The situation.

Recently, the stuff that I hear on the news are all about the cases that have been registered on politicians and their family. Most of them related to corruption and a few related to murders. Don't know which is more ghastly in nature; red blooded punks with an axe to grind, plotting murders with sordid revenge or greedy A** punks killing innocent people of their livelihood and denying their constitutional rights.

I am just pondering on the amount of time and resources that would been saved and used effectively , if we just did not spend them on these imbeciles.Let me clarify; I am not up for letting them all go free. Just the thought of these resources being diverted to something like building roads, schools make everything seem possible.

Why did we get to this situation? Did we all just fall asleep while these politicians plotted to rob us blind? Did we just decide to remain mute spectators, while they pillage and rob us of our freedom to live a life as we see fit.

I say "We", cause we put them into power. Don't we think that, we have the power or at least the right to remove them from power. There are few who act on behalf of others on these matters. At present dealing with these lies and malice seems to take all 24hours of all days of this biggest democracy.

I am at loss to find a path, that could help to get out of this filthy mess. Opposition seems like a good choice, until you find that they "are" in bed with the ruling party.

So what else have we got? Just live and hope nothing catastrophe happens in your lifetime or to you atleast? Seems like the only option that we got ,cause each of us have our own problems to deal with rather than that of the nation. I think it's the right time for the machines to start ruling over us.

- F#%@#D Up

LokPal Bill?

Unless you have decided to shut yourself from the realm called "daily life", you would have heard about the term "LokPal Bill". Information regarding this is being force fed into every Indian, even via Social Networking. So lazy as that I am ,finally decided to catch up on this bill and referred to Wiki; my true source of correct information[1] :D .

My immediate reaction is, "An enforcing authority is truly incorruptible, only if it is not human!!". The only way to minimize corruption, is to address the roots of the issue. I say minimize, cause it is not possible to eradicate corruption. It is in human nature to subvert laws of the land and improvise on a shortcut to achieve their goal. Else we would not have invented machines or anything for that matter and sat on our lazy asses all day.

Corruption stems from the existence of a rich & poor divide. A Government official asks for a bribe, not cause he is addicted to it, at least not the majority. He wants to lead a life that he only can fantasizes with his income. Pay back the loans he had taken to bribe his predecessor, to obtain this position? Take care of the illness that strikes his mom, which the insurance company does not cover.

Instead of finding fault and improvising ways to enforce new laws on the present system; try to ensure only apt personnel are selected for the various Civil services.

Why can't we just ensure that the selection process for Ministers is scrutinized to avoid corrupt landlords, contractors, village elders, humans and so... to be elected as MLA or MP's. Why can't we enforce systems that reduces unemployment? Why can't we teach the poor to feed themselves? Why don't we make all existing government processes to be transparent and make them publish their

Why do we need another department to take care of this corruption? Who will fund this? Tax-payers? Will it scale to the populace of India? So who then watches over these members? Another commission? Well, enough with my questions.

My take on this; Just another system that will look good and shiny, until it starts to rust. Don't talk about this system working in other countries, cos this is not another country, this is India... a monster on its own.

LokPal can help to remove corruption that is prevalent now, but not an effective system to minimize corruption for the long haul.

References:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Lokpal_Bill

Old thoughts...

I got a chance to read my old blog posts. It was an enlightening experience; and the stuff that I had written about; sorrows... problems... joy... it all seems so trivial now(I only refer to the past!!). This helps me to reinforce the fact that, problems faced today is just a blimp and that is all it should be. It has the ability to change your future... but that again depends on your interpretation.

You must have heard people say "Time will heal all wounds...". Well actually they can't be more wrong!! Time can only make you numb to that event due its persistence and only your actions regarding that event can heal those wounds... But time has a potent weapon and it is called loss of memory( I meant the gradual loss of memory and not amnesia). As time progresses... time has the ability to make your forget stuff.

So take action... do not remain a mute spectator, cos you are the lead actor in your play called life. :)

my two cents!!

First Drive in Adverse weather condition

So... I had to drop my friend at the airport early morning at 5:30AM. I took my friends car and headed out. It was snowing heavily with at least 1 inch snow on the road. First the car refused to start because of the cold weather. After 5 minutes, it started and we inched slowly on the road. The sight in front of us, was like a scene taken directly out of Call of Duty:MW2. It was eerie with the road laid out like a white blanket and the rare ominous headlights of oncoming traffic. Trees covered in snow and I could only hear the heater in the car murmuring to itself. The only thing we missed out were guns and Russians to shoot against.

Out in the interstate, all four/five lanes were all blurred into one big lane and all cars were inching slowly. It is not the drive on snow that is dangerous. But the snow turns into a thin slate of ice; when you try to brake, you just skid like a player in ice hockey. At least on loose snow your car would just drift to the sides a bit and easy to regain control only if there aren't any cars near by.

So that is how I bumped into another car today. I had enough distance between him and me. I saw him stop and I braked!! but no traction on the tires. I skid and hit him on his rear bumper and broke my friend's front number plate. Anyways only a dent on the other guys car. So we stopped our cars on the middle of the road, switched on the hazard lights and got out. We exchanged pleasantries and checked both our cars. Nothing major seems to have happened. So I gave him my mobile number and we parted. The kicker is that, there was a cop car right on the side of the road when this happened, but he was busy towing an already out of commission car from the side of the road.

Anyways waiting to hear from the other guy now and I drove back home safely to type this episode. :)

-Alphy

ps: I just got my auto-insurance yesterday!!

So... this goes down in history

It was a grueling 1:30 minute session; my thesis defense. Throat was parched dry with a dry weird feeling down the esophagus. Not due to various long explanations for the committee members, but a vague feeling that persisted in my mind; have I done something incorrect in my research? But once I completed the presentation, I knew that graduation was imminent. All that preparation...phew... it is complete.

It took an entire day for the message to sink in. I am finally an MS graduate. This goes down in the annals of NCSU CS dept, as well as in my history!!

Wow!! I made a fatal decision to pursue thesis exactly 11/2 years back and I live to tell the tale now. It has had its moments, nerve wracking situations, feelings of deja vu, light bulb effect and finally it boiled down to a successful defense.

Came to US with a goal and even though it has been a long journey, that has been pitted with moments memorable and other wise. Busted my laptop; almost took down a public server due to my experiments; gulped down design issues with beer; countless nights of just watching a *ix terminal and various series; procrastination of everything from laundry to taking bath; the goal has been finally achieved.

"Mission Accomplished!!"

The story of my Laptop...

After I reached U.S, I realized that a Laptop was an absolute necessity. I found that I had a lot of free time and I liked to watch movies/series online to kill time. An Internet connection with unlimited download was the motivation I needed to buy myself a new laptop, with a minority of its time being spent for my studies (Grinning...).So Finally I got a new HP 14'' laptop with 12 cell battery and a 128MB Nvidia graphics card. It was an awesome piece of technology that I used daily to play games like Crysis I & II, CoD: MWI & MWII, AOE & CS to name a few. Man... I used to spend more time playing games and watching movies... than studying with that laptop. The minuscule amount that I spent for my studies were also productive [Big grin again...] . It has withstood my continues barrage of buggy code and never had it given up on me. The laptop trusted me. But after 2 years... four semesters down and I am trying to finish my Thesis...my laptop just shutdown's down one fine evening.

The screen flickers for a few seconds and then it goes blank. I am thinking either the OS crashed or my program crashed, so I do the most efficient way to restart a windows machine.Give is a hard reboot!!. And so it starts to boot up and then the screen freezes again. I am like keeping my fingers crossed to hard reboot again. This time even the BIOS does not execute. F***, I am screwed. All of my data regarding my Thesis is on this laptop. I am cursing my self for not taking the backup.

Like any self-respecting Computer Engineer, I try to fix it by myself by removing battery, HD and even the RAM and I stop myself there, cos I couldn't go further than that. Since the warranty had expired , I can't ship it to HP for fixing it. So I paid an expert to check on my laptop and the diagnosis: "MOTHERBOARD, kicked the bucket!!".

It looks like, it can take only so much abuse...As I am writing this, my laptop is in the corner of the room stripped of its stomach( Hard Drive) waiting to be scrapped.

I am so attached to that laptop that I am refusing to give it up, even for scraps now. It has been there with me through a lot of tough times...(:D).

And that is the short & tragic story of my Laptop.

Two years in US!!

Hmmm.... It has been two years since I have been in US to pursue my goal of finishing my Masters.Though not complete yet, but surely closer than I was two years ago :)( True that is a step forward, HURRAY for me!!). It has been a choppy ride so far... which has made my stay really interesting in retrospect. Made a lot of new friends... learnt some stuff...did some stuff...regret doing some stuff...continued the cherished tradition of boozing with fnds...watched a lot of movies...played a lot of FPS & strategy games...tried going to gym & failed... and did minuscule amount of Thesis work. Pretty much sums up my last two years.

It is the last mile that is always the most painful & rewarding, so here I am trying to finish my Master's Thesis. You must be wondering... as to why am I posting blogs when I should be working. Exactly my point even I am not able to comprehend that!

Back to work, Slaves( ma Neurons)!

_tombstone

Thoughts to be put in Order...

Been dazing the stars for few weeks now. Have a shit load of work to do, especially my Thesis that needs to be completed for my MS Graduation. It is not that I have not been working, but results does not look positive... so trying/thinking hard to come with alternatives for the problem.

Hmmm... Research work seemed so exciting.. but it is not always though. Even if it concerns your area of interest. It involves a lot of patience and structured thought process. I bow my head to all Doctoral students... for their work and their patience.

Need motivation... Can I borrow some? :P Well doodling on my comp does not help.

Come on.... I want to graduate!!!,I think this should be motivation enough? Don't you think...?

-Alphy

Master's course work complete... :)

So finally my Master's course work is complete... It feels good to know that I don't have to study for any exam no more...Though I still have a big task to complete, My Thesis... yet it feels like a big task on my TODO list has been checked.. :P

me and my lists... I still remember the first semester, a continuous nightmare for me.Studying after a four year gap from bachelors... was a nightmare but did get through it, with scars to prove my encounter.

So now full steam to do my Thesis... Till then... ciao

Alphy

Crap... Time is running very fast...

It felt like "just now the sem started", Fuck now... two months already gone and one midterm is already due. WTF? Man, I am supposed to finish my Thesis this semester ,but I do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. I need to gear up for the work and start plowing, cos one reaps, what one sows. There ain't no karma, which is supposed to help you out for good deeds done. It is all one big shit!!

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