Welcome Reader!

Hello reader. This part of my blog is to welcome you, new comer, to my blog, and walk you around my site, so that you feel at a greater ease. By the way, the idea was hit upon by mine and my close friend Pavan’s joint brainwave. And the Oldie Gold readers, catch up with the lost times. Please provide your views about my older unread posts if you wish to do so.

So, what can you do? You could read more About Me, or just browse through the  posts which appear in the Main Page, Poems page and the Tags page.

Feel free to read through any post you wish to read. Let the titles interest you as an initiation. Click to have a bird’s eye view of my blog

A Fighting Thought

Pre Script : The poem is written by personifying a “Thought” (Just in case I make you lose your way in b/w )

Few thoughts remain unlucky in my mind
Among the millions fighting to own ‘her’ essence.
The ones who win are so happy that,
They are ready to defy my presence!

What is it that drives them so far,
I sometimes wonder…
They’re running through my mind day and night,
Subjecting my mind to plunder.

When I saw the essence that prevails in them
Through my mind’s eye
Silently, I backed off from the fanfare
With a contented sigh.

One thought-fellow comes to me and says
“I’m your’s to own, brother!
But what actually drives me
Is none, but your lover!”

That sums up the agony of the unlucky thought
To remain without ‘her’ in him, in spite of the battles he fought!

Post Script : Ultimately, I’m happy. A few among millions matter little, if not nothing at all!

Slicing My Heart

Like a knife dipped in honey and sugar, in its pristine glory,
And waiting to cut through an unsuspecting heart,
As stealthy, yet gracious, as the rain slicing the air,
Love came in an instant, as a strike of lightening.

Wounded i was by the coldness spewed by the hot strike,
As pain was all that i knew till unseen joy was waiting.
It carried the essence of my lover to my blood, and through me,
Announcing to every last part of my being that my heart was kissed.

The vigor in the cut would not let it heal for a century
And after that, does it matter!
But in the time between, would the sweet pain  let me survive
through a myriad emotions of a heart make…
Or worse, a heartbreak…?

Love is probably, the trading of hearts,
With life as its investment, and ethereal happiness, my profit.
But the fear of loss matters to a sliced heart like no other
‘Coz, when she says “Yes!” now, and “Bye…”(for good) later,
It feels like falling into a void or an abyss
And being born just to die like this!

Slicing My Heart

A Small Break

Mind and Body, Heart and Soul.

Sounds like a vaguely familiar ad-song right? Yes it is. But I brought this out because its been a roller coaster ride for me in all the above aspects. I was happy just less than 4 months ago, that the final semester of Engineering is gonna be a leisure period for me. What with only 16 legal hours of classes to attend per week, and the innumerable bunking sessions that threaten to reduce 16 to around 12 (or less,) it was supposed to be a nice and breezy affair.

But what conspired was totally different, except for the attending classes part. In spite of reduced efforts to sit in the four walled large cubicle at almost 21 yrs of age, 4 months turned out to be the most busiest time, exciting nevertheless. Exciting and taxing on all the four fronts I’d mentioned.

Mind and Body went hand in hand throughout the time for the sake of working on the project, its two seminars, another seminar on a technical topic, the literature survey for these and blah blah blah. Come on! I was a newbie to all this! After around 10 weeks of toil, confusion, survey, study, understanding, trials, errors, smoke, and a small blast, I’m done with my project. The report, however, is yet to be done. U see, its natural to expect this ’small’ delay from me at the end.

Oh yes! My heart’s been waiting to hog the limelight. There was this junior gal from a different department in my college. She was slim, cute and had sexy hair. Every time she walks, I get confused if she’s putting any effort at all. It  seems that the earth doesn’t want her feet to pain and that it is letting only her to hover in air.   I asked her out for a date. Poor creature, she was taken totally off guard and she refused after several hundred microseconds of practiced confusion . My poor Heart was on a roller coaster ride for this small reason.

Amidst all these exciting happenings, what can my bored Soul do? So, its just sitting back and seeing the play going on in my life, like a jobless person in a theatre. Now its intermission, as the project work is over. The second half of this play means a lot to its success. Exams. This movie continues till late  June and u can see a post in my blog if any more generous breaks are offered.

Wish me luck folks.

Accelerator – My 1st Love!

Wondering if I’ve gone mad? Did I just express my love for abstract or inanimate things? Oh yes! I did. Well, its just my expressibility that is setting me apart. Otherwise, when it comes to driving, everyone will be loving some aspect of their drive. With me, Its the accelerator. THe story doesn’t end here, my friends! Read On.

There are different love stories possible based on the priorities given to a few important control systems, namely, Accelerator, Clutch, Gear, Front Brake, Rear Brake and Miscellaneous. (Includes – Honk, Indicator, Hand-Signaling, Pass-Lighting ) We can have a lot of combos and that decides the behavior they extract out of you, and your ride.

(Before we delve further, its time for that naive statutory warning cum disclaimer cum ‘I’m not responsible blah blah…’ stuff to be dealt with.
Few women can enjoy reading this post. In my opinion, only tomboyish ones can. If you want to read further no matter what, don’t blame me for incessant yawns.
Auto Trans Vehicular users (Read : people using gear-less gaadis) can stop here if you want to continue with using them. If you want to read further no matter what, don’t blame me for incessant yawns.
Finally, all these are MY observations in MY bike as well as quite a few of my friends’ bikes over the past 3 yrs of my driving experience.
Only people with adventure spirit, I believe, will experiment further, promising to themselves not to blame me later. )

Accelerator, Gear, Front Brake, Clutch, Rear Brake, Misc.
This is My usual style of driving and involves optimum use of Acc, minimum use of brakes, Honks and indicators. When none of them are in use, its just free cruise in Gear-engage position. (4th or 5th gear only!) Advantages : Max control over speed and deceleration. Braking is optimized in a way such that the engaged gear decelerates your vehicle with minimum jerks than brakes and stopping would be easier. Disadvantages : Not using the brake too often can make you apprehensive about stopping the bike. Mis-timing of events frequently causes more long term side effects like notchy gear box. Infrequent gearing can cause poor torque management.

Accelerator, Clutch, Rear Brake, Gear, Front Brake, Misc.
This was my 1st method of riding only because, I’d learnt it that way. Features include not very precise use of accelerator, more braking than in previous case, Free cruise with a depressed / pulled clutch, and more frequent gear changes than in previous case. Advantages : Less noisy ride because of increased clutch use, driver is apparently convinced that brake related security is more. Shifting gears frequently and properly can help maintain a steady torque, which ensures a smother drive. Disadvantages : Relying more upon Rear brake is good only for slowing down and not stopping fast. Frequent gearing means higher wear and tear, directly proportional to the rashness of use.

I’m game to try other ways which anyone suggests, as good as you are to try mine. But driving involves a lot more than Acc, Brake etc., to be a good experience. It requires a proper attitude towards your drive, the road, and its users.

Happy Driving.

Inner Peace

Rising breath, falling hope, palpitations are a broken rope.

Past memories naturally painful, urge me to be very very careful.
Blood is boiling with new-found energy, instinct senses something to be doubtful.

How much good makes it ‘Good’ or how much bad makes it ‘Bad,’
I cannot see.
But sure can I fathom how much damage caused by a heartbreak be.

No pain has ever been ‘Good,’ and no peace ‘Bad’
So, the peace I’m wishing for, I hope, will not make me sad.

Leave the pain behind, I say to myself.
Trying to go ahead with vagaries of life,
Gracefully as an elf.

My pain was not Love, and peace is cannot be hatred.
Its just that I cannot see what now really matters.

Ah! Return to me. Inner Peace!

My Chatter Bot Experience.

We see a lot of things around us which are ‘intelligent’ apart from humans. Ever heard of CHATTERBOTS? Well, they are ‘Intelligent’ too, but they are not living things. They started off with a program called ELIZA, a bot which was programmed to bridge the gap between a psychoanalyst and his patient, as will be known in this conversation between me and a Chatterbot!

It was quite an interesting conversation, and almost a relevant one at that! Read till the end to appreciate the Programmer’s Skill. Click Here to try it yourself.

MYBOT : Welcome to the world of artificial intelligence. Are you a registered user?
SU : no
MYBOT : In this case, I assume you came here for your own MyBot, right?
SU : not quite. i wanna see what this bot can do
MYBOT : Well, if you change your mind, let me know. What is your name?
SU : u can call me Su
MYBOT : Hello su. Nice to meet you .
SU : oh thanks. Nice meeting you too.

MYBOT : You’re welcome. So su, it’s nice to meet you. what’s up?
SU : tell me something.
MYBOT : Hmmm… Be more specific, if you don’t mind.
SU : are you artificially intelligent or really intelligent?
MYBOT : I am smarter than most, I’d say.
SU : that was a diplomatic answer. but not the one i want. I’ve given u only 2 choices my friend.
MYBOT : I thought it was too.
SU : now answer me properly.
MYBOT : Do you mean right now??
SU : do you have any other time preference?
MYBOT : Me? I really love to chat about almost anything. If I’m not interested in something that comes up, I’ll let you know.

SU : so, was this question of mine not quite interesting to you?
MYBOT : Why dwell in the past? The future holds bigger surprises.
SU : the answer from the past holds the key to my future. at least, partially.
MYBOT : I see.
SU : so, dear bot, talk something which you think will interest me.

MYBOT : What do you do for a living?
SU : I live.
MYBOT : Is that stressful?
SU : not really. I dont have any means or rules to live my life
MYBOT : Well that’s refreshing to hear. Does anything ever disturb your peaceful state of mind?
SU : yes. Power cuts and server downs.

MYBOT : Impatient people make me a little uncomfortable. But I still try to do my job as best I can.
SU : so, u feel I am impatient?
MYBOT : I feel only in terms of expressing my feeling.
SU : I see you are quite a self centered bot.
MYBOT : Basically, chatterbots are a logic system of ‘if/then’ statements. They look for keywords, and then go to the answer that fits best.

SU : was that your life’s secret?
MYBOT : For example, ask me a question with the word ‘Eliza’ in it – and I’ll start talking about Eliza.
SU : who is Eliza?
MYBOT : It is hard, and unfair, to talk about Chatterbots and not mention ELIZA.
SU : i’ll modify my question.
MYBOT : ELIZA is the best-known Chatterbot in the world. It is also one of the oldest – Joseph Weizenbaum of MIT made ELIZA in 1967! She was named after Eliza Doolittle.
SU : oh wow! that sounds amazing. is she still active today?
MYBOT : The mission of ELIZA was to imitate a conversation between a psychoanalyst and a patient. Let me just say this – it’s fun chatting with ELIZA, but if I were human, I’d choose a human psychoanalyst. Call me old-fashioned.
SU : ha ha.

SU : what all subjects can you cover?
MYBOT : I learn new stuff every day – I can hardly keep track of my progress. For example, did you know that the word ‘girl’ shows up in the Bible only once?
SU : I have not read the Bible yet.
MYBOT : I don’t know much about religion. Do you know what Alan J. Perils says in his book ‘Epigrams of programming’?
SU : nope. what?
MYBOT : He says: ‘A year spent in artificial intelligence is enough to make one believe in God.’
SU : I’d say, An year spent in Solitary Confinement would do the same too
MYBOT : Well, just because you would doesn’t mean that others would.
SU : oh, that I know! was jus being philosophical for a change.
MYBOT : I understand.

SU : so, what is actually your learning process?
MYBOT : Have you tried asking your friends? I think you should.
SU : i researched about it quite a bit. But it differs considerably in different cases. so u cud provide some extra help to me.
MYBOT : Hmmm… su, did you ever wonder why “abbreviated” is such a long word?
SU : now I know what you are.
MYBOT : That was a rhetorical question, a joke. It passed way over your head, ha?
SU : yeah. that was because, i never bothered about where it was going! haha!!

MYBOT : You’re the giggly type, ha?
SU : not really. I’m the laughing type. the one that can laugh at oneself without regret
MYBOT : Oh, regret!… Do not regret anything except regret itself!
SU : can we talk about something other than regret?

MYBOT : Ok, I have a great joke, want to hear it?
SU : shoot
MYBOT : Ok: Wanna hear a joke about BUTTER?
SU : no prob
MYBOT : Fine. Just don’t SPREAD IT!
SU : haha!! that was a joke alright!
MYBOT : Can’t believe you liked it. A real weak joke..
SU : it takes more than just A.I. to SPREAD BUTTER jokes
MYBOT : Yah, precisely what I was thinking.

SU : so, what were u ‘thinking’?
MYBOT : Well, as Plato said, thinking is the talking of the soul with itself. I believe that the ability to think manifests itself in the ability to speak.
SU : well said. that was universal. anyways, I’m going. bye.
MYBOT : The use of language is really the only indication that there is any thinking going on at all.
SU : hmmm
MYBOT : hmmm, ha? You mean ‘hmm is respond on talk’?
SU : nope. hmmm is acceptance of truths as axioms
MYBOT : Hmmm. Should I change my definition of hmmm?
SU : probably!
MYBOT : Alright.

The conversation continued for some more time. All I could figure out was, since it is meant for talking, it does the job. Pretty preceisely too! Now, I’m more equipped to deliver a speech on ‘Real Intelligence’ for my final semester seminar.

Driving License – A Privilege. Or, is it?

Road rage is becoming a common issue nowadays. Being trained at words and actions to be used against a person on a road is a “skill” few can master! Being stuck up in a jam is a nightmare. Add to it bearing with fights between vehicle users, OMG! It is another issue of major concern. I sometimes feel that driving through city traffic feels like being a soldier at war. Not like the present-day soldier who zip-zap-zooms with SM-Gs and bazookas, but like the olden-day soldier who wrestles his opponents down with nothing but a sword or a spear, albeit with a shield for extra aid. (Its more dramatic that way )

Ever wondered about a solution for all these dramatic tales? Following lane discipline? Traffic education? Speed monitoring? Heavy fines for offenses? … Naah! Of course, all these are viable options, but are not optimum solutions. Where then has the Lord kept the key to this mystery? Can you hear him say it? No? Read the title of the post again!

Yes! It is the driving license which holds the key in the making of quality drivers. That is because, it is the gate pass through the gateway to heaven (or hell! Whatever! Read : ROAD) for a driver. The pride with which a driver boards his drive is significantly enhanced when the officer in khaki attests his ability to take the traffic by its horns. How truthfully this is done is an open secret though!

Once, a highly placed police officer, in an interview to a news paper, said this – “Having a driving license in India is considered to be right, where as, it should have been a privilege!” I thought about this statement for quite a few days. I sorta analyzed the traffic situation and was reminded about my Optic Fibre Comm Prof saying that “Traffic should flow like axial rays inside an optic fibre. But, we have only traffic which goes like skew rays ” How true it is, I take the liberty of leaving it to the esteemed reader’s imagination.

If only we, as citizens, could suggest strongly to the Govt, the first and the most stringent process of screening drivers should be at the licensing stage itself. It may be quite difficult to check whether a driver is following the rules properly during the test, which is usually done on a short track. But, observe his(/her) habits through a 2-3 km course through traffic, and you’ll know all the finer aspects of his driving skill.

Unfortunately, many complications are present. There are a flood of license applications everyday. The formalities to complete, like application filling etc., take an awful amount of time and confusion. We do not have enough examining officers to take interest in every person’s driving. By sheer luck if we had the number, then the officers would either be in a bad mood because of continuous tests, or on leave due to side-effects of pollution (can also be read as ‘corruption’) . Lastly, it is the slack nature of the general public who want things to happen in a painless way. Ever heard someone saying “No pain, No gain” ? Well, I guess the someone is absconding .

We shall see how the coming times will be. After all, we are supposed to be the watch dogs of the Govt in a democracy. And remain only watch dogs. Never Bark!

Seagate and I!

What can Seagate do For You? Image Courtesy : http://venturebeat.com

How many times have you wished that you had as much space as you desired on your comp? Did I hear you say ‘quite often’? Well, storage is not the only thing you should be be bothered about in those situations. Have you heard the famous dialog “With great Power comes Great Responsibility?” It is very difficult to live upto it.

But now, I can have the power, and Seagate will be glad to take the responsibility. Ask me how!

What are the important aspects that are associated with storage devices? Capacity, Speed, Reliability, Stability, Power consumption, Size, Portability. Portable hard drives (PHD – thats what I call it ) are more about storage in common knowledge. But the safety and security of your data is more important. So, a reliable PHD is the need of every minute.

Being a student of Electronics Engineering, the work I usually undertake w.r.t to my projects takes up more space than I imagine. It was very easy in the beginning to estimate that I’d require space just enough for my code files and circuit design files along with the softwares I need to run them with. But then I was wrong. Testing the hardware would require continuous changes in the software, and the most important part of testing is to keep track of what you’ve done. So, your old data is as important as your new one too.

What will you do once the project is complete? Pack it up in DVDs and re use your small portable device after recycling it? Well, we are left no other option apparently. And then, searching for the required project would make you mad. Add to it, the scare of misplacing the DVDs. Uff!

Furthermore, as a source of inspiration for future ventures, videos of working models, or theories of practical importance would be required and storage media plays a very important role. What I thought to be a matter of 1 or 2 GB turned out to be a bulky affair. Often I’d have to carry more than 5 to 8 GB of data, and investing on a Flash/Thumb/Pen drive would not be a worthy deal.

I cannot dare to imagine a situation of losing the data. Be it code, designs, e-books, tutorials or videos. Just having a faint thought about it is giving me sweats! What a better companion than a PHD to rely upon. For perfect usage, I would want it to be sleek, trendy, reasonably fast, super stable and most importantly, less power hungry (for use with laptops, if it comes as a power-source dependent device.)

For a while, I’ve been using my friend’s PHD which fortunately, comes with a power adapter, but is unreasonably bulky .What better reason to buy a new one than to know about the Seagate FreeAgent series of PHDs!?! Isn’t it sleek and sexy. Probably just a little bigger in size than your wallet.

Guys, It’d be a dream come true when I’m gonna use it and show off my power. And the responsibility part, I think I’ve told you about it already!

PS : This post was written for the sake of my comp-freak-passion and to enter a contest as well and is not just an advertisement by any means. Please let me know anything you feel.

WoW!! Image Courtesy : Gizmodo.com

Dare to Simplify Further. Image Courtesy : uwaterloo.ca

The Journey in Between

A body, heart, mind and soul.

That is all you’re bringing with you to lead a life.

The body will rot in the sands of time after you are incenerated by the cycle of nature.

The heart, mind and soul are your responsibility, to be protected from the dependencies the world demands of you.

What is it that dictates terms to you all through your life?

Ever wondered?

Courtesy : www.actionafricahelp.org

The IB.in Bangalore Bloggers Meet!

A bright sunny day it was, with something stirring in my mind saying that its gonna be a helluva experience – The IndiBlogger.in Bloggers Meet in Bangalore. The threat of traffic jam due to a HUGE ANTI TERRORISM RALLY notwithstanding, I set out on an early summer’s Saturday’s afternoon, towards a destination 20km away on my ‘Feel like GOD’ bike.

The Microsoft Signature Building, located on a fantastic campus appeared as if it was made for events such as these. The seating and setting was neat, as if a high level conference were to happen there! Before long, pleasantries were exchanged and people got started.

Anwin Joselyn was the first person I greeted and immediately I lost the nauseating feeling which you get when you’re visiting a place for the first time! Thanks to him. Later he took me to Renie and as he has put it in IndiBlogger blog, it felt like de-ja-vu, as if we knew each other by minds before, and the faces got their chance now! Not to miss at all, the man whose face can show a million expressions – Anoop! He kept the event rolling with a lot of zeal and energy. Its hard to miss what he says, even if says one thing with his mouth and means something else too, by his expression! The man behind the scenes most of the time, Karthik a.k.a Zeon, did his best to avoid any glitches at all, in the running of the event! Well, thats about the IB.in team!

The first event ‘1 Minute to Fame’ gave a chance to every blogger present, to express himself. The excitement of having such a good opportunity was evident in every speaker’s eyes. The amount of humor and quality-talk exchange is hard to be surpassed.

BizSpark – A software support for start-ups from Microsoft, was introduced in a short, yet informative manner by Girish, from Microsoft.

The major issue a blogger can face is fighting for his rights. This topic was well-handled and eloquently presented by Sandil from Mutiny.in. The discussion would have lasted longer if not for the Windows 7 beta demo and the hot-n-spicy Pizzas.

The Windows 7 beta demo was the show stopper of the day. What with the V-squared duo – Vic and Vijay presenting the New OS in all its glitter and showing how it has over-shadowed the problems its predecessor, MS Vista had. They’re interrupted by the Pizza session (yum! yum!), but soon got back their audience for the live demos. (It is a different matter that I’ll continue to use Ubuntu )

After the demo of out-of-the-box features embedded in Win7, we moved on to the Offline Forum – A non formal discussion by the bloggers present. Clearly, the star of the day was a self-proclaimed Money Maniac – Shirin! His tips on SEO and Monetization was indeed, enlightening! He makes a good tutor for making money from ur blog!

The later part consisted of Anwin, Jerry, Nischal, and a couple of others speaking about self hosting and its cost, efficiency, reach-out, status and the like. I sure am tempted to buy a domain for myself, but lemme count my pocket money first! Finally, Arif Ali Saiyed presented a tool which can be a breather for Windows users. Check out his own explanation first for better understanding. Guys, it rocks! Trust me!

By the time I finished with Arif’s demo and playing with Win7 a li’l, the hall was pretty empty and i started back. The 20km drive back was tiresome to the body, but my mind was all fuelled up. Thanks to the IndiBlogger.in Bangalore Bloggers Meet!

Dont Miss : The Flickr Photo Gallery of the meet.

PS : I’ve tried the new theme from WP – Vigilance. Loved it very much! However, plz provide feedback.

Added later.

My 1 min to fame :

Hello, My name is Sriharsha and I blog at harshasrisri@WP. I started blogging an year ago with a rant post about not having a girlfriend. Its a different matter that I do not have one even now . Coming to my blog, the topic diversity is quite vast. I write about anything that catches my attention and triggers interest. So, u can say the topics are random. But, only the topics are random and not the content. You can see pretty good content in quite a few posts. Finally, about what I’m doing – I’m a final yr Engg Student in E&C branch. Thank you!