Saturday, August 29, 2009

My Engineering days Part III



It is pretty difficult to recollect everything which happened a decade ago but am doing my best to uncover everything.

One subject which I didn’t find that interesting was Microprocessor. And there was this Elevator lab program. I remember trying to uncover what exactly the logic. It was one hell of a task. I didn’t have the basics right and it complicated the matters. Somehow managed to prepare for it and fortunately I didn’t get it in the lab exam :-) :-)

Two unfortunate incidents happened related to my health in second year. One was a minor accident with my Hero Puch. Had minor injuries to knee which resulted in a week’s rest. Chassis of Hero Puch was completely damaged and had to be replaced. Fortunately vehicle insurance came in handy. :-)

Then had a minor surgery on my back. Something called Pilonidal Sinus. Had to be operated. Was in a hospital for week and then rest at home for 15 days. Result I couldn’t play cricket for the next 6 months. I was just confined to watching. Our department did exceptionally well in the inter department tournament and we reached finals but lost the finals. Sudi, Mahendra, Aruna, Umesha, Vachan, Ballari alias Praveen, Apporva, Shakeeb all played very well. I played the role of a coach:-)

Enter 5th semester and the beginning of mini projects. We had 3 mini projects every semester starting with 5th and it was hard work all the way. And the name which instantly comes into mind is Avinash. He was my partner in all the mini projects and we had a great time together. Editor in Linux, Computer graphics project, Visual Basic project, Network project, Java project. I remember doing the Visual basic project on Language translation and sitting together entire night fine tuning the logic to ensure translation from Kannada to English and vice versa succeeds. He undoubtedly worked more than me and was exceptionally good at coding. Thanks a lot Avinash.

Securing distinction was becoming a formality and it continued in 5th and 6th semester.

One subject which was made interesting was Multimedia Computing. It was handled by Murali Sir and he created an interest in that subject. The first thing he used to do was to test what we have understood by throwing very basic questions and we were all on our toes hoping the question is not addressed to us :-) In a way it ensured that we were in regular touch with the subject and his way of presentation was pretty good.

Who can forget the Operations Research(OR) subject. It was an elective and we all took it. The syllabus was ready and we found it interesting as it was problems all the way. Later for some reason syllabus was changed to a large extent and we started following it. We all Sudi, Umesha, Jaya, Aruna, Naagu, Avinash and myself were at Mahendra’s house doing night outs to prepare for OR. It was real fun. Avinash, Mahendra and Naagu used to understand and then teach us. Till then we were all discussing needless things and having fun.:-) But we worked hard to ensure we learnt everything. And on the exam day we were all confident of doing well. Then came the Question paper. We were in for the shock of our engineering career. The question paper was set entirely based on the first syllabus which was sent and the revised syllabus was not taken into consideration. Oh God we were all looking clueless and in the exam hall everyone’s face was full of smiles.:-) Reason nobody knew anything more than 40 or 50 marks and we were all sailing in the same boat :-) Then we wrote a letter to VTU through our college complaining. I had written precisely for 40 marks and it included a 20 marks problem. I had got it right. And when the results came almost all had cleared the paper and I had got 36 :-) In our group Umesha I guess had 80+ and we were all shocked on hearing this :-) He was also shocked :-)

As usual few trips were there and i will discuss about this in my next. Take care...

Friday, August 21, 2009

My Engineering days.... Part 2


Why Hero Puch? Because of Shah Rukh Khan, the superstar.... He was the brand ambassador for Hero Puch and the featured ad was based on his Duplicate film. You can attribute my decision to the power of advertising :-)

Getting into CS department was like homecoming. Had lots of PU friends.

The way i went to college changed. Sudi was now my classmate and he had a Yamaha RX 125. So we used to use our two wheeler alternatively. That did save a lot of Petrol :-)

One thing which both of us did throughout our engineering was we hardly appeared for the first internals ( I guess only 2 or 3 times we might have written). We just didn't take the first internals seriously. I would say we were pretty confident of making up in the next two. And we did precisely that and we always had 20+ at the end of the semester.

How did the classes go? Class vs Cricket. Cricket got priority. It was like Eat cricket, sleep cricket, drink cricket. Even in class the thoughts were about cricket. We played hell lot of matches. Sudi, Mahendra, Umesha, Aruna... But i always ensured i had attendance of 75 %. Never had a shortage. It was like miss one class per week to play a match :-). Took studies very casually. Was not all that attentive in the class. Studied only during the second and third internals. But when i did study it was comprehensive.

WE had one bad habit in class. I along with Sudi, Aruna, Umesh occasionally used to play a game called Cow Bull Word finder game. Name sounds funny :-) It was one to one. Say i used to have a 4 letter word and the other person also had one. The task was to find out the word the other person through a series of iterations. It was great fun. There was absolutely no verbal communication. Just writing in the note book and finding the word. It didn't happen regularly. Once in a while if the class was too boring we played it.

Coming to labs.. Again hardly serious. Just go to lab. Type a program. Get the output and thats it. Never bothered whats the logic, how it works.. This was the schedule during the term days..

Once the semester exams were announced it was time to work. Work very hard. Our saviour was Nagaraju alias Naagu. Just a week prior to the lab exams we (sudi, aruna, umesha, mahendra) all used to go to his house. He used to teach us the logic and the programs. He used to scratch his head to simplify the logic for the program. In the mean time we were busy watching movies or listening to songs in his computer. :-) :-) And when he was ready we used to listen to his explanation with avid interest because the lab exam was at stake. Thanks Naagu for all the help.

After understanding the programs it was time to test it out. And i used to type it in my computer. Execute it. After getting the output i was over the moon as if i had written the logic. :-)

Forgot this computer purchase. After getting Hero Puch in 3rd semester. It was now the turn of Computer the next semester. Made a request to dad. Projected as if if i don't get the Computer it would be impossible to get good marks. Again dad relented. One more loan. This time cost twice of the Hero Puch (Rs 36000. ) But in a semester used it only for 5 to 6 days for actual programming and rest of the time it was games, movies. Get the latest Hindi movie and watch it. 20 Rs per CD and the CD was shared by 3 to 4. :-)

The actual lab exams. Getting output was the one and only priority. 3rd sem Data Structures got a linked list program and i was not getting the proper output. With 15 minutes remaining made a small change and it worked. It was about pointers. Just did it without any logic and it worked. When i remember that mistake now i realise how easy it is. :-)

Theory exams.. Used to sleep evening. Get up at 9 or 10 PM. Have dinner and study till early morning was the routine. Had this knack of predicting questions and it worked most of the times. It used to be an instinctive guess and the question would appear in the exam bringing a smile.

Third sem again barely managed to get distinction.

Fourth semester had interesting subjects. Graph theory, ADA and FAFL were the favorites. Got 99 in Graph theory. I wasn't surprised as the paper was easy and i knew it has to be 96+. Guess what, got 80.5 % and was the second topper. I was no where in the toppers list in third semester. I was surprised with the result. Never expected this. I still remember paying 10 Rs at a internet parlour near our college to see the result.

Second year ended great. I was still under a state of shock that i could score so much. Never realised i had so much potential. It gave a lot of confidence and it had a positive impact on my personality.

Moral: In a way its not fair to advice because i didn't follow it. But i believe we all make mistakes and its all about realization. Nowadays everyone has a Computer. Use it judiciously. Am not saying don play games or watch movies. Do that but also give equal weightage to its basic purpose. Keep a target. Learn one program per day. It won't take more than 15 minutes. It will surely help you in the long run. Or say read an article about latest technology.Spare at least 15 minutes. It will really come in handy.

Trust me nothing is impossible. Effort is all that matters. Don't limit your imagination.

And for gods sake don't be just studious. It doesn't help you in any way. It might be sports or cultural events or organizing something or being part of a team, it really helps in shaping one's personality.

Rest in my next....

Thursday, August 20, 2009

My Engineering days.... Part 1


I will be sharing how i spent my days during engineering. It might run into a few parts.(Because i have a pretty hectic schedule ahead in the coming weeks and Blogging is one way of relaxing :-)) Here comes the first part. It all happened b/w 1998-2002..

Got a free seat in E & C at PES College of Engineering, Mandya (my home town). The college life was about to begin. Was using a old bicycle (1960 Hercules)of my grand father for first and second PUC. Continued with the same for the first semester. Then as it normally happens with all youngsters entering college, started to get a feeling that why am i riding an old cycle. Started putting pressure on dad for a new gear bicycle with the reason that the college was 5 kms away from home :-) (But the fact was i used the old cycle for my PU and the Government PU college was hardly a km short to engineering college :-))

First sem results were out and had got distinction. Dad relented to my sustained pressure (the distinction came in handy) and i had a gear bicycle (Rs 2700) at the start of 2nd semester. Didn't even care whether dad had enough money to purchase.

So 2nd semester began with a new bicycle with gears. Was feeling on top of the world. Used it for a month. Then the distance to college got halved. No no college didn't shift..... :-) I used to park my cycle at friend's place (Praveen alias Shahrukh) and then went to college in his Splendor Bike.

Was not at all a studious guy. Somehow again managed to get exact distinction in the second semester. I remember using only a single sheet for Graphics semester exam because there were rumours that if we write everything in a single drawing sheet we will get some grace marks. If i find the guy who started it will thrash him. After writing whatever i knew in a single sheet the drawing sheet looked clumsy :-) :-) Fortunately barely managed to clear the graphics paper.


Strength of Materials was my favorite subject and it was handled by Dr. Eshwar Prasad. He was amazing. Loved that subject like anything. Graphics was the one i hated. Didn't understand concepts of projections.. It was too confusing. You come out with the solution and then suddenly you realise that the initial assumption was wrong. Then redo it all over again.

Along with Shahrukh organized one day picnic to Madikeri. It was a great experience and it served as a platform to showcase my organizational ability.

And 3rd semester entered into E & C department. Was wondering what on earth am i studying. No subject was interesting and circuits, formulas, ... Oh God.. Where was I... Then they called for change of branch option. 7 had got detained in Computer Science. So in effect there were 7 vacancies. I applied for change of branch and the merit list was out and i stood 6th. :-) Got the change to Computer Science. Was feeling great and also relieved that i need not study any circuit stuff :-) Was happy but missed Shahrukh. He continued in E & C. (Shahrukh alias Praveen is now in Oracle.. )

I entered Computer Science department. The branch where my best friend Sudi was there. He was my neighbour and we were classmates from LKG to tenth. We had an amazing relationship and I was happy to join him again as a classmate...

In between all this the youth mania caught up again :-) and started asking dad to get a two wheeler for me. . The gear cycle happiness quotient was on a decline and needed a change :-) Dad relented again and i was a proud owner of Hero Puch (The results and the change of branch thing helped. Rs 18000. Dad had taken loan from Bank to finance. ). He thought me to ride a Bajaj two wheeler (it was his friend's). Dad had a Hero Majestic (1985 make, moped) and i knew to ride it. After a week's training i was ready to ride Hero Puch. Trust me guys riding a Hero Puch is not easy. Putting first gear and releasing the clutch is a very tough ask initially. I learnt it the hard way. But once you learn it then its an easy job to ride.


Just to Summarise everything... I got carried away with this youth mania.. I realised it later that a gear cycle is as good as a gearless cycle and the interest on something is sustained only for a while. My dad gave my gear cycle to a distant relative freely.

Moral : Its natural to crave for many things (bikes, latest mobile handsets, costly branded dresses, etc..) when you enter college but think twice before pressurizing your parents relentlessly. They will have their own constraints and see things from a utility perspective. (I agree i didn't follow this but have realised its importance )

Still tonnes to write... But rest will be in my next part.... Take care...

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Swine Flu


Swine Flu has become the most talked about thing in India.. The number of infected is increasing daily and till date 7 deaths have been reported in India and around 800 confirmed cases.

Its obvious that the Swine Flu is going to spread and many more are likely to be affected. The key here is early detection of the Flu. It becomes life threatening if its detected late in a person who is suffering from chronic ailments. But i feel there is no need to press the panic button but rather focus on creating awareness in people on how to deal with this. I hope the facts gathered here from different sources will do that task.

What is swine flu?

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by Type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. Swine flu viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the past, this transmission was limited and not sustained beyond three people.

Is the current swine flu virus contagious?

Various international agencies (US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, World Health Organization) have determined that this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human. WHO has escalated the world Pandemic Phase from Phase 3 to Phase 6 (in a 6-scale Phase), indicating that a worldwide pandemic due to swine flu H1N1.

What are the signs and symptoms of swine flu in people?

The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. In the past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.

How does swine flu spread?

Spread of this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is thought to be happening in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with live flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

How are human infections with swine influenza diagnosed?

To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to a hospital laboratory for testing.

How can someone with the flu infect someone else?

Infected people may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 7 or more days after becoming sick. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.

How long can an infected person spread swine flu to others?

People with swine influenza virus infection should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic and possible for up to 7 days following illness onset. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

Is there a vaccine for Pandemic Flu?

Because the virus is new, there will be no vaccine ready to protect against pandemic flu. Vaccine against Swine Flu virus H1N1 needs at least 6-12 months to be produced.

Are there medicines to treat swine flu?

Yes. The US CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) or zanamivir (Relenza®) for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with these swine influenza viruses.

What surfaces are most likely to be sources of contamination?

The virus can be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with the virus and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. Droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air. The virus can then be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets from another person on a surface like a desk, doorknob, child’s toy or phone handset and then touches their own eyes, mouth or nose before washing their hands.

What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. The virus can spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
If you get sick with influenza, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

What is the best way to keep from spreading the virus through coughing or sneezing?

If you are sick, limit your contact with other people as much as possible. Do not go to work or school if ill.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick. Put your used tissue in the waste basket.
Cover your cough or sneeze if you do not have a tissue. Then, clean your hands, and do so every time you cough or sneeze.

In children emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

Fast breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
Not waking up or not interacting
Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
Fever with a rash

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden dizziness
Confusion
Severe or persistent vomiting

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Deep Joshi - Winner of Ramon Magsaysay award


One of the very few awards which i avidly look forward to is the Ramon Magsaysay award which is considered Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. They select deserving candidate who have made significant contribution to the society. Indian social activist Deep Joshi, who has done pioneering work for “development of rural communities,” was named along with five others for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2009. I thought of writing a few words about Deep Joshi.


Joshi was raised in a remote village in Uttarakhand in the Himalayas, did his degree from the National Institute of Technology in Allahabad, a master's degree in engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a management degree from MIT's Sloan School. Joshi worked for Ford foundation as program officer and with his experience concluded that if only more people equipped with both knowledge and empathy decided to work in the villages, India's rural society would be transformed.

This idea led him in 1983 to form, together with some colleagues, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN). A non-profit organization, PRADAN recruits university-educated youth from campuses across the country and grooms them to do grassroots work through a rigorous year-long apprenticeship which combines formal training and guided practice in the field. "Professionalizing" development work is PRADAN's mission by enabling poor rural families to live a life of dignity.

Living and working directly with India's poorest communities, PRADAN staff empower village groups with technical, project implementation, and networking skills that increase both their income-generating capabilities and their actual family income. Its staff, combining their professional expertise with local knowledge, also train villagers as para-veterinarians, accountants, and technicians who support their fellow-villagers in building and sustaining collective livelihood projects.

In its twin programs of training development professionals and reducing rural poverty, PRADAN has produced impressive results. PRADAN professionals, divided into 27 teams, work with over 112,900 families in 3,044 villages across seven of the poorest states in the country. A majority of the families that PRADAN works with belong to the Schedule Tribes and Schedule Castes. Over a thousand graduates have joined its apprenticeship program. More than three hundred professionals comprise its staff, most of them working in field-based teams across the country.

Why would engineers and management professionals, with degrees from universities like Harvard and MIT, choose to apply their brainpower to a small village irrigation project? Joshi desires to show that for people with the finest education, there are few intellectual challenges more worthy than addressing rural poverty. He says: "Development work is considered intellectually inferior to high science, industry, or diplomacy. We want to prove it is both a challenging and a noble choice."

Twenty six percent of India's population, or roughly thirty crore people, still live below the global poverty line. Getting all of them to lead life with dignity is going to be a massive challenge for all of us. This is where people like Deep Joshi are making a significant contribution.

Hats off to Deep Joshi, an MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) post graduate for his transformative work on rural development.