The Rain

The rain was drumming on my window sill. A constant music composed of rhythmatic upbeats and down beats. The sound was monotonous, reminding me of a sad story. Silence was pervading and the power or electricity had failed, or rather, the rain made it fail. The only thing you could hear was the lashing of rain. Not a bird chirped, not an animal stirred. The clouds hid the sun. But light was coming from within the clouds. It reminded me of rays of hope coming from the heavens as if to pacify the wretched humans. From the distant hills, a wail came. It was not human, nor animal. It was the air compressed and released in such a manner as if to give a warning to all those who stood in its path. It was coming from a mechanical device. The train. The horn of this mechanical device which was once the backbone of industry whistled down the hills, challenging the down pour of the rain. But as always, it was dissolved. Dissolved in the mighty uproar of rain which decided to play in a higher note. Across my window, I could see two drops of rain sliding on the cables drawn for powering the houses. It was a queer sight. In a world where every human races for power and authority, I was taken aback seeing two drops of water doing the same. As I watched, one overtook the other, but only to fall down a moment later. An instant later, the cable was devoid of any drop of water. Both had fell down. Both had lost the miserable race. Nobody learns these days. Not even the non living.

The rain is a powerful being. Deep inside its heart, unknown to its admirers and adversaries, it hides something. Something mysterious and dark, but at the same time weak and attractive. Then there was a thunderclap. It only reinforced the fact that this rain was going to live way longer. The rain is like a woman. Beautiful, gorgeous and attractive, but hides many things. More than one can see on the surface, more than one can guess. If the rain was the gentle lady’s hair, we watch only the color and grace. It makes us forget that the hair is made of hair strands. The sound of the rain was the smile of the lady. The upbeats of rain reminded of the laughter that emanate from the blessed lady. The sacred feminine entered in every aspect of the human life. Rain was one of them. She was beautiful. Her blue eyes reminded me of the ocean from which she sprang forth. I kissed her. She responded by lightening herself. I walked into her. I wanted to feel the presence and aura of the rain. The way it wet the mossy patches, the dry lands and the dry mind was always a wonder to me. She did it with panache. The rain was always my source of déjà vu.

In the next instant, as unknowingly as she had come, she had gone. Lightening herself and making her barely heard until she was a whisper. And then silence. I found myself freezing. The fan had started to rotate. I looked up at the eastern sky. I found her smiling at me. The beautiful rainbow.

Flowers...

Fed up

I'm fed up waiting for the counselling.
Now, its over.
Good or bad, the result comes tomorrow.
Tomorrow, I'll know whether I'll be able to study at NIT
Wish me good luck...

What I know about NIT

My cousin came the other day. He is doing his B.Arch Course at NIT Calicut. So we had a lot to talk about. Obviously, we talked and talked and talked! Let me share my thoughts.

On entering home, he told me that it would be difficult to get Electronics and Communication Engineering at NIT Calicut, but would be easy in other states. I guess it is because most students here in Kerala opt ECE as their primary choice. Since there are only 60 seats, it’s just a matter of minutes before the whole course fills up. I decided that I’d take Mechanical Engineering if such a case arises. I’m gonna try the NITs at Calicut, Surathkal, Warangal and Trichy. Hopefully I’d get admission in one of them. “Mechanical Engineering would be great”, he told me. I asked about Raman, he is firm that he’ll get admission. So, Ramnath, good luck!

He also said me that NITs offer change of courses frequently. So I think the main problem is to get there. When I enquired about course changes, my uncle replied, “Most Engineering colleges let you change the branch after first year if you wish. First year (or semester) all branches will have common subjects (At least that is how it was when I was doing my engineering, I studied, civil, mechanical, electrical on first year). So do not panic. You can also request for syllabus from universities or colleges. Each university will have their own syllabus which may be slightly different from others.”

He then talked about the campus life at NIT. Infact this was our main subject of talk. He told me that ragging was something unknown in the campus (That is pity. A little ragging would never do any harm!). First years (or freshmen) have security guards following them. So you can expect one following you even if you want to make a phone call. Seniors are not usually expected to talk with juniors.

The hostels are well furnished and he said that the bathroom is cleaner than rooms! All rooms have the capability to install computer systems and the rooms are LANned. There is also 24 hour free internet connectivity. The canteen is usually open till 2 am. Life is carefree and enjoyable. He said that the campus at Surathkal has their private beach. Hostel life also is not strict. They won’t care if you sleep late at night. He had once played Ensemble Studio’s ‘Age of Mythology’ (multiplayer) all the night. He is in the habit of playing games like Quake and Unreal Tournament.

On the whole, I’d be badly depressed if I do not get admission at NIT. That is what I can say. Bohooohooo!

Humbugs !

“Advantage Amrita”, that is how the prospectus of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham begins. But is it truly an advantage? I don’t think so. Let me tell you why.

Since I got the 400th rank in Kerala CET, I’m eligible for their scholarship. That is they are offering me 100% fee waiver. Naturally I was interested to go for their counseling; since it is only at that time they will tell me whether I’m eligible for the scholarship. I was thrilled when a guy called from Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetham and asked me to come for counseling on the 12th of this month. I got their intimation letter the next day and that was when it all went wrong!

Among the documents they ask me to produce at the counseling centre, they ask for a demand draft for Rs. 20,000/- which will be forfeited if I decide to go elsewhere. That is by the money I pay them (for hostel fees etc.) they are making me bound to their institution. They know very well that no one in their right mind would give away an amount as large as Rs. 20,000/-

So what does this all lead to? The advantage they say about Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is nothing more than a disadvantage in disguise. I’m sorry, but curse ’em.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

Laugh all the Way!

I got some jokes from David's Webpage. Here they are :

A project manager, a computer programmer and a computer operator are driving down the road when the car they are in gets a flat tire. The three men try to solve the problem.
The project manager said: "Let's catch a cab and in ten minutes we'll reach our destination."
The computer programmer said: "We have here the driver's guide. I can easily replace the flat tire and continue our drive."
The computer operator said: "First of all, let's turn off the engine and turn it on again. Maybe it will fix the problem."
Suddenly a Microsoft software engineer passed by and said: "Try to close all windows, get off the car, and then get in and try again."


A Software Engineer, a Hardware Engineer and a Departmental Manager were on their way to a meeting. They were driving down a steep mountain road when suddenly the brakes on their car failed. The car careened almost out of control down the road, bouncing off the crash barriers, until it miraculously ground to a halt scraping along the mountainside. The car's occupants, shaken but unhurt, now had a problem: they were stuck halfway down a mountain in a car with no brakes. What were they to do?
"I know," said the Departmental Manager, "Let's have a meeting, propose a Vision, formulate a Mission Statement, define some Goals, and by a process of Continuous Improvement find a solution to the Critical Problems, and we can be on our way."
"No, no," said the Hardware Engineer, "That will take far too long, and besides, that method has never worked before. I've got my Swiss Army knife with me, and in no time at all I can strip down the car's braking system, isolate the fault, fix it, and we can be on our way."
"Well," said the Software Engineer, "Before we do anything, I think we should push the car back up the road and see if it happens again."


Why do programmers always get Christmas and Halloween mixed up?
Because DEC 25 = OCT 31


How do you keep a programmer in the shower all day?
Give him a bottle of shampoo which says "lather, rinse, repeat."


A system programmer came home from work almost at dawn and told his wife enthusiastically: "Tonight I have installed a new release of MVS/ESA together with VM/CMS and CICS/VS".
"G.O.O.D" answered his wife.

The Programmers' Cheer
Shift to the left, shift to the right!
Pop up, push down, byte, byte, byte!



- "Have you heard about the object-oriennted way to become wealthy?"
- "No..."
- "Inheritance."

If you can touch it and you can see it, it's REAL.
If you can touch it but you can't see it, it's TRANSPARENT.
If you can't touch it but you can see it, it's VIRTUAL.
If you can't touch it and you can't see it, it's GONE.

If you can pick it up, it's a PC.
If you can't pick it up but you can push it over, it's a minicomputer.
But when you can't pick it up or knock it over, it's a mainframe.
search390.com

Once a programmer drowned in the sea. Many Marines where at that time on the beach, but the programmer was shouting "F1 F1" and nobody understood it.


The boy is smoking and leaving smoke rings into the air.
The girl gets irritated with the smoke and says to her lover: "Can't you see the warning written on the cigarettes packet, smoking is injurious to health!"
The boy replies back: "Darling, I am a programmer. We don't worry about warnings, we only worry about errors."

Jack was a COBOL programmer in the mid to late 1990s. After years of being taken for granted and treated as a technological dinosaur by all the Client/Server programmers and website developers, he was finally getting some respect. He'd become a private consultant specializing in Year 2000 conversions.
Several years of this relentless, mind-numbing work had taken its toll on Jack. He began having anxiety dreams about the Year 2000. All he could think about was how he could avoid the year 2000 and all that came with it.
Jack decided to contact a company that specialized in cryogenics. He made a deal to have him frozen until March 15th, 2000. The next thing he would know is he'd wake up in the year 2000; after the New Year celebrations and computer debacles; after the leap day. Nothing else to worry about except getting on with his life.
He was put into his cryogenic receptacle, the technicians set the revive date, he was given injections to slow his heartbeat to a bare minimum, and that was that.
The next thing that Jack saw was an enormous and very modern room filled with excited people. They were all shouting "I can't believe it!" and "It's a miracle" and "He's alive!” There were cameras (unlike any he'd ever seen) and equipment that looked like it came out of a science fiction movie.
Someone who was obviously a spokesperson for the group stepped forward. Jack couldn't contain his enthusiasm. "Is it over?" he asked. "Is the year 2000 already here? Are all the millennial parties and promotions and crises all over and done with?"
The spokesman explained that there had been a problem with the programming of the timer on Jack's cryogenic receptacle; it hadn't been year 2000 compliant. It was actually eight thousand years later, not the year 2000. Technology had advanced to such a degree that everyone had virtual reality interfaces which allowed them to contact anyone else on the planet.
"That sounds terrific," said Jack. "But I'm curious. Why is everybody so interested in me?"
"Well," said the spokesman. "The year 10000 is just around the corner, and it says in your files that you know COBOL".

APL is a write-only language.
In C we had to code our own bugs. In C++ we can inherit them.
C gives you enough rope to hang yourself. C++ also gives you the tree object to tie it to.
With C you can shoot yourself in the leg. With C++ you can reuse the bullet.
A computer without COBOL and FORTRAN is like a piece of chocolate cake without ketchup and mustard.
PL/I are for programmers who can't decide whether to write in COBOL or FORTRAN.

The most important thing in the programming language is the name. A language will not succeed without a good name. I have recently invented a very good name and now I am looking for a suitable language.
D. E. Knuth, 1967

Why all Pascal programmers ask to live in Atlantis?
Because it is below C level.

Have you heard they are developing an Object Oriented version of COBOL? It's called...
Bruce Clement, SIGPLAN Notices, 1992

Programming Languages are like Cars
Assembler: A formula I race car. Very fast but difficult to drive and maintain.
FORTRAN II: A Model T Ford. Once it was the king of the road.
FORTRAN IV: A Model A Ford.
FORTRAN 77: a six-cylinder Ford Fairlane with standard transmission and no seat belts.
COBOL: A delivery van. It's bulky and ugly but it does the work.
BASIC: A second-hand Rambler with a rebuilt engine and patched upholstery. Your dad bought it for you to learn to drive. You'll ditch it as soon as you can afford a new one.
PL/I: A Cadillac convertible with automatic transmission, a two-tone paint job, white-wall tires, chrome exhaust pipes, and fuzzy dice hanging in the windshield.
C++: A black Firebird, the all macho car. Comes with optional seatbelt (lint) and optional fuzz buster (escape to assembler).
ALGOL 60: An Austin Mini. Boy that's a small car.
ALGOL 68: An Aston Martin. An impressive car but not just anyone can drive it.
Pascal: A Volkswagon Beetle. It's small but sturdy. Was once popular with intellectual types.
LISP: An electric car. It's simple but slow. Seat belts are not available.
PROLOG/LUCID: Prototype concept cars.
FORTH: A go-cart.
LOGO: A kiddie's replica of a Rolls Royce. Comes with a real engine and a working horn.
APL: A double-decker bus. It takes rows and columns of passengers to the same place all at the same time but it drives only in reverse and is instrumented in Greek.
Ada: An army-green Mercedes-Benz staff car. Power steering, power brakes, and automatic transmission are standard. No other colors or options are available. If it's good enough for generals, it's good enough for you.
Java: All-terrain very slow vehicle.

What is an example of a never halting program?
Friedrichs and Magnus in front of an open elevator, each saying "you go first".

Why Client Server Computing is like Teenage Sex
It is on everybody's mind all the time.
Everyone is talking about it all the time.
Everyone thinks everyone else is doing it.
Almost no one is really doing it.
The few who are doing it are:
• doing it poorly;
• sure it will be better next time;
• not practicing it safely.

Life Before the Computer

An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity
A keyboard was a piano!

Memory was something that you lost with age
A CD was a bank account
And if you had a 3 ½ inch floppy
You hoped nobody found out!

Compress was something you did to garbage
Not something you did to a file
And if you unzipped anything in public
You'd be in jail for awhile!

Log on was adding wood to a fire
Hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
And a backup happened to your commode!

Cut - you did with a pocket knife
Paste you did with glue
A web was a spider's home
And a virus was the flu!

I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper
And the memory in my head
I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash
But when it happens they wish they were dead!

There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and benchmarks.
Paraphrased after a famous saying by Mark Twain

Software Development Cycle
1. Programmer produces code he believes is bug-free.
2. Product is tested. 20 bugs are found.
3. Programmer fixes 10 of the bugs and explains to the testing department that the other 10 aren't really bugs.
4. Testing department finds that five of the fixes didn't work and discovers 15 new bugs.
5. Repeat three times steps 3 and 4.
6. Due to marketing pressure and an extremely premature product announcement based on overly-optimistic programming schedule, the product is released.
7. Users find 137 new bugs.
8. Original programmer, having cashed his royalty check, is nowhere to be found.
9. Newly-assembled programming team fixes almost all of the 137 bugs, but introduce 456 new ones.
10. Original programmer sends underpaid testing department a postcard from Fiji. Entire testing department quits.
11. Company is bought in a hostile takeover by competitor using profits from their latest release, which had 783 bugs.
12. New CEO is brought in by board of directors. He hires a programmer to redo program from scratch.
13. Programmer produces code he believes is bug-free...

A grade school teacher was asking his pupils what their parents did for a living. "Tim, you be first. What does your mother do all day?"
Tim stood up and proudly said, "She's a doctor."
"That's wonderful. How about you, Amy?"
Amy shyly stood up, scuffed her feet and said, "My father is a mailman."
"Thank you, Amy" said the teacher. "What does your parent do, Billy?"
Billy proudly stood up and announced, "My daddy plays piano in a whorehouse."
The teacher was aghast and went to Billy's house and rang the bell. Billy's father answered the door. The teacher explained what his son had said and demanded an explanation. Billy's dad said, "I'm actually a system programmer specializing in TCP/IP communication protocol on UNIX systems. How can I explain a thing like that to a seven-year-old?"

Unix is user friendly. It's just very particular about who it's friends are.

A programmer was walking along the beach when he found a lamp. Upon rubbing the lamp a genie appeared who stated "I am the most powerful genie in the world. I can grant you any wish you want, but only one wish."
The programmer pulled out a map of the Mediterranean area and said "I'd like there to be a just and last peace among the people in the middle east."
The genie responded, "Gee, I don't know. Those people have been fighting since the beginning of time. I can do just about anything, but this is beyond my limits."
The programmer then said, "Well, I am a programmer and my programs have a lot of users. Please make all the users satisfied with my programs, and let them ask sensible changes"
Genie: "Uh, let me see that map again."

All programmers are playwrights and all computers are lousy actors.

They say that the new super computer knows everything. A skeptical man came and asked the computer, "Where is my father?"
The computer bleeped for a short while, and then came back with "Your father is fishing in Michigan."
The skeptical man said triumphantly, "You see? I knew this was nonsense. My father has been dead for twenty years."
"No", replied the super computer immediately. "Your mother's husband has been dead for twenty years. Your father just landed a three pound trout."

The programmer to his son: "Here, I brought you a new basketball."
"Thank you, daddy, but where is the user's guide?"

The problem with physicists is that they tend to cheat in order to get results.
The problem with mathematicians is that they tend to work on toy problems in order to get results.
The problem with program verifiers is that they tend to cheat at toy problems in order to get results.

A software verifier read in the Bible that God protects all fools, and decided to test it empirically. He jumped out of the window and broke a leg. There he lies, writhing in pain, and happily thinks: "I never really considered myself a fool, but I never knew I was THAT clever!"

1.
In the beginning God created the Bit and the Byte. And from those he created the Word.
2.
And there were two Bytes in the Word; and nothing else existed. And God separated the One from the Zero; and he saw it was good.
3.
And God said - Let the Data be; And so it happened. And God said - Let the Data go to their proper places. And he created floppy disks and hard disks and compact disks.
4.
And God said - Let the computers be, so there would be a place to put floppy disks and hard disks and compact disks. Thus God created computers and called them hardware.
5.
And there was no Software yet. But God created programs; small and big... And told them - Go and multiply yourselves and fill all the Memory.
6.
And God said - I will create the Programmer; And the Programmer will make new programs and govern over the computers and programs and Data.
7.
And God created the Programmer; and put him at Data Center; And God showed the Programmer the Catalog Tree and said You can use all the volumes and subvolumes but DO NOT USE Windows.
8.
And God said - It is not Good for the programmer to be alone. He took a bone from the Programmer's body and created a creature that would look up at the Programmer; and admire the Programmer; and love the things the Programmer does; And God called the creature: the User.
9.
And the Programmer and the User were left under the naked DOS and it was Good.
10.
But Bill was smarter than all the other creatures of God. And Bill said to the User - Did God really tell you not to run any programs?
11.
And the User answered - God told us that we can use every program and every piece of Data but told us not to run Windows or we will die.
12.
And Bill said to the User - How can you talk about something you did not even try. The moment you run Windows you will become equal to God. You will be able to create anything you like by a simple click of your mouse.
13.
And the User saw that the fruits of the Windows were nicer and easier to use. And the User saw that any knowledge was useless - since Windows could replace it.
14.
So the User installed the Windows on his computer; and said to the Programmer that it was good.
15.
And the Programmer immediately started to look for new drivers. And God asked him - What are you looking for? And the Programmer answered - I am looking for new drivers because I can not find them in the DOS. And God said - Who told you need drivers? Did you run Windows? And the Programmer said - It was Bill who told us to !
16.
And God said to Bill - Because of what you did you will be hated by all the creatures. And the User will always be unhappy with you. And you will always sell Windows.
17.
And God said to the User - Because of what you did, the Windows will disappoint you and eat up all your Resources; and you will have to use lousy programs; and you will always rely on the Programmers help.
18.
And God said to the Programmer - Because you listened to the User you will never be happy. All your programs will have errors and you will have to fix them and fix them to the end of time.
19.
And God threw them out of the Data Center and locked the door and secured it with a password.
20.
GENERAL PROTECTION FAULT

CIA - Computer Industry Acronyms
CD-ROM: Consumer Device, Rendered Obsolete in Months
PCMCIA: People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms
ISDN: It Still Does Nothing
SCSI: System Can't See It
MIPS: Meaningless Indication of Processor Speed
DOS: Defunct Operating System
WINDOWS: Will Install Needless Data On Whole System
OS/2: Obsolete Soon, Too
PnP: Plug and Pray
APPLE: Arrogance Produces Profit-Losing Entity
IBM: I Blame Microsoft
DEC: Do Expect Cuts
MICROSOFT: Most Intelligent Customers Realize Our Software Only Fools Teenagers
CA: Constant Acquisitions
COBOL: Completely Obsolete Business Oriented Language
LISP: Lots of Insipid and Stupid Parentheses
MACINTOSH: Most Applications Crash; If Not, The Operating System Hangs
AAAAA: American Association Against Acronym Abuse.
WYSIWYMGIYRRLAAGW: What You See Is What You Might Get If You're Really Really Lucky And All Goes Well.

Murphy's Laws of Computing
•
When computing, whatever happens, behave as though you meant it to happen.
•
When you get to the point where you really understand your computer, it's probably obsolete.
•
The first place to look for information is in the section of the manual where you least expect to find it.
•
When the going gets tough, upgrade.
•
For every action, there is an equal and opposite malfunction.
•
He who laughs last probably made a back-up.
•
A complex system that does not work is invariably found to have evolved from a simpler system that worked just fine.
•
The number one cause of computer problems is computer solutions.
•
A computer program will always do what you tell it to do, but rarely what you want to do.

Ten Commandments for Stress Free Programming
1. Thou shalt not worry about bugs.

Bugs in your software are actually special features.
2. Thou shalt not fix abort conditions.

Your user has a better chance of winning state lottery than getting the same abort again.
3. Thou shalt not handle errors.

Error handing was meant for error prone people, neither you or your users are error prone.
4. Thou shalt not restrict users.

Don't do any editing, let the user input anything, anywhere, anytime. That is being very user friendly.
5. Thou shalt not optimize.

Your users are very thankful to get the information, they don't worry about speed and efficiency.
6. Thou shalt not provide help.

If your users can not figure out themselves how to use your software than they are too dumb to deserve the benefits of your software anyway.
7. Thou shalt not document.

Documentation only comes in handy for making future modifications. You made the software perfect the first time, it will never need modifications.
8. Thou shalt not hurry.

Only the cute and the mighty should get the program by deadline.
9. Thou shalt not revise.

Your interpretation of specs was right, you know the users' requirements better than them.
10. Thou shalt not share.

If other programmers needed some of your code, they should have written it themselves.

Real software engineers...
Real software engineers don't read dumps. They never generate them, and on the rare occasions that they come across them, they are vaguely amused.
Real software engineers don't comment their code. The identifiers are so mnemonic they don't have to.
Real software engineers don't write applications programs, they implement algorithms.
Real software engineers don't program in a language that doesn't have recursive function calls.
Real software engineers don't debug programs, they verify correctness.
Real software engineers like C's structured constructs, but they are suspicious of it because they have heard that it lets you get "close to the machine."
Real software engineers admire PASCAL for its discipline and spartan purity, but they find it difficult to actually program in.
Real software engineers work from 9 to 5, because that is the way the job is described in the formal spec. Working late would feel like using an undocumented external procedure.
Real software engineers like writing their own compilers, preferably in PROLOG.
Real software engineers regret the existence of COBOL, FORTRAN and BASIC. PL/I is getting there, but it is not nearly disciplined enough; far too much built in functions.
Real software engineers aren't too happy about the existence of users. Users always seem to have the wrong idea about what the implementation and verification of algorithms is all about.

Programming Revisited
Windows 95 is a 32 bit extension for a 16 bit patch to an 8 bit operating system originally coded for a 4 bit microprocessor by a 2 bit company that can't stand 1 bit of competition.
Have you heard about the new Cray super computer? It's so fast, it executes an infinite loop in 6 seconds.
If God had intended Man to program, we would be born with serial I/O ports.

The generation of random numbers is too important to be left to chance.

The computer is mightier than the pen, the sword, and usually, the programmer.

The determined programmer can write a COBOL program in any language.

Every program is either trivial or it contains at least one bug.

Al-gor-ithm" means "The unscrupulous technique of continuing to count and re-count until you get the result you want." (Sent by Gary Gilmore)
Don't get sucked in by comments--only debug code.

If cars had followed the same developmental path as computers, a Rolls Royce would cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and crash once a year.
If builders built buildings the way programmers write programs, then the first woodpecker to come along would destroy civilization.
Demo-oriented programming: A programming style, typically used by startups, focusing on the demo of the program being developed, so it will easily catch the prospective investor.

How programmers do it...
Programmers do it byte by byte.
Programmers do it with bytes and nibbles.
Programmers try to do it again and again.
Programmers do it with acronyms.
Programmers do it by computer simulation.
Programmers do it according to the specifications.
Programmers do it over and over until they get it right.
Ada programmers do it by committee.
ALGOL 68 programmers do it od.
APL programmers do it in a line.
Assembler programmers do it a bit at a time.
C++ programmers do it with class.
Fortran programmers do it with double precision.
LISP (programmers (do (it (with (parentheses))))).
Logo programmers do it for an educational experience.
Prolog programmers do it artificially.
Smalltalk programmers have more methods.
System programmers do it with interrupts.


You Might Be a Programmer if...
•
you lust for O'Reilly books.
•
you know that "goto considered harmful".
•
you are looking for the "else" at the end of this joke.
•
you believe that making a wrong program worse is no sin.
•
every combination of three letters is a meaningful acronym for you.
•
when you are counting objects, you go "0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D...".
•
you can remember seventeen computer passwords but not your anniversary.
•
you are sure that the year 2000 is a leap year, and know why it is dangerous.
•
you start laughing hysterically when the topic of computer reliability is brought up.
•
you go to balance your checkbook and discover that you're doing the math in hexadecimal.
•
the language you are best speaking is English, but the language you are best writing is Java.
•
on vacation, you are reading a computer manual and turning the pages faster than everyone else who is reading John Grisham novels.

Rediscover the web

Feel the Heat

Abstract Realities

I know not what to do,
As the world stares at me.
Calling me names and praising;
For things I’ve never done.

They call me a know-all,
But never in my life was I.
What to do, what to hope
As darkness glances at me.

I’m a failure this year
But never so again.
Hopes renewed and improved,
I’ll struggle again.

And if you found me again
Lost in the darkness,
I’ll rise again, conquer again,
Keep memoirs anew.

Through the boulevard I walked,
Of memoirs of my past.
Never again, never again
Will I stand this…

Wild thoughts

The movie Armageddon fired up my imaginations. What would happen if an asteroid like that, the one they call “a Global Killer”, hit Earth? The answer is obvious. Earth will become lifeless. But can such a hit really wipe out the entire life which originated on Earth? One has to think about it.

I thought of the possibilities of survival if such a thing hits Earth. This may sound crazy, but I strongly believe that it should kill all life forms. Such a global killing can lead evolution to bring forth creatures of superior intelligence and survival power. Surviving an asteroid of such magnitudes will be possible if and only if we build a Noah’s Ark. But this time, it would set sail in outer space pushed by the blast wave from the impact.

Homosapiens are really the most vulnerable of all life forms if left to natural resources. The only thing that makes us stronger is the ability to think and inspire. I’d say that it is this ability that lead humans forward. The human child is the most fragile life form to be ever seen on this earth. Due to superior thinking power, our brains are larger than any of the species co existing with us. Larger brains may affect the mother’s womb. So evolution has played a role and as a result, the tactics of survival are taught to us outside the womb not inside as other creatures.

What I’m speaking is that in order to survive the harsh environments that surface once an asteroid hits Earth, we must be superior to others in tactics of survival. We can do nothing of this and that is because I say that evolution has to bring forth new life forms. But as humans, we can find out artificial ways to survive.

The first and most effective way would be to sail into space and find a hospitable planet. We can even choose the moon and make it inhabitable. This is a long shot, but sure, we can do it. We can live in closed tents on moon which prevents too much heat and too much cold. Solar panels can be used to generate electricity. For food, one can plant trees.
In order to make them grow, he can provide light of the same wavelength as that we get from the Sun. Obviously; fashion will take a long time to evolve as I cannot think of a way to make dresses!

But even moon is not exempted from asteroids and debris from the space. Craters on the moon are forming in a rapid pace. Devoid of atmosphere, even the teeniest bit of rock can produce a deadly impact. In other words, it can lead to another great danger, a danger waiting to happen.

So, let’s choose Mars. Mars is not “as dangerous” as moon, but it is not the next bet to earth. All I said is that life can probably survive there if extensive steps are taken. Carl Sagan discusses ways to make Mars hospitable in his magnum opus “Cosmos”. He is of the opinion that one can vaporize the polar ice cap of Mars and thus provide an atmosphere rich in water, almost similar to that in Earth. That would be a nice possibility.
But up to this date, no one has found out how to carry supplies enough to last a human 6 months in space – the time you take to travel to Mars. But technology is yet to develop.

It would be great to think of lifestyles in Mars. I’ll blog about it later. By the way, did you know that All India Engineering Entrance Exams Results will be out today?

Check it out at their website.


UPDATE :

Results have been published. Here's my result