Karthik’s Log

This might be my last post in a while. I leave for Mysore tomorrow, and have lot of last minute things to do, like sign an agreement for instance. So, even if something interesting does come up, (not like it ever does) I don’t think I’ll have the time to pen it down. So, it’s bye to my readers then. (for now at least. Don’t get to cozy, I’ll be back with more taachar. )

This time over, I would like to thank all of the people who follow my blog and even consider visiting it once in a while. Thanks people. I want to thank George personally for having done so much for me. (In his own words.) And yes, I do know most of you aren’t jobless. Sivakumar especially. He is out there to change the world, and that’s a serious job. I would like to thank the people who type annoying comments too. Without you, we would never exercise our Grey cells. Thanks everyone.

Later then.

This is in continuation to my post Indian Traffic Boards

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If you think the bags are funny, it’s not about that. Did you notice the unit of speed ? Km/Ph. Well I have heard of Kmph and Km/hr. Km/Ph is Kilometers per per hour. That’s acceleration you jerks

The previous post ORK-05 was cracked by George (and Amog in part). I guess I should have made the quiz even more abstract. But I thought it should be better if the clues actually lead somewhere unlike Anna University quizzes.

I did think of uploading this audio initially, but I know people have TrackID these days. (Even my phone does) They would have had it cracked in no time. So I thought I’d upload it as a part of the answer.

I present Lux Aeterna

P.S: You should also see a few “unofficial” star wars clips in youtube with Lux in the background. It was really good.

ORK’s come and go on my blog without people so much as reading them. Here is yet another installment. (I guess the next one will take some time to come.) As always, I am limiting it to very few question(s). Just one in this case. Let’s see if you get this one.

As always the first one to answer the question correctly (and completely) shall win the grand prize of 1 Rupee. So fasten up your seat belts, pull up your socks and….. yea that’s about it. Just get the answer right.

Q: Identify each of these pictures and the video and connect them.

P.S: I am leaving the comments open this time.

I went to a cell phone accessories shop a few days back and was asking for a leather case for my phone. I wasn’t going to buy it unless it was authentic. I saw a pouch and it was in a case and all which said Sony Ericsson written on it. I asked for the price and he quoted < 100 Rupees for it. Well, now, I know my accessories and know that Sony Ericsson cases cost at least 7-8 times that. (There is a store in Nungambakkam on Haddows road right opposite to Shastri Bhavan where they have almost every accessory of Sony Ericsson. I was impressed. But they didn’t seem to have the tripod I wanted. ) I wonder what these peoples’ definition of ORIGINAL is. Then he showed me a few covers which had NOKIA written on it. Why would I buy a cover that says NOKIA when I have a SONY ERICSSON phone ? The shopkeeper didn’t think it was a big deal. I’ll tell you what, it is. If it had nothing written on it, its a different thing.

So I decided I wasn’t going to buy them after all. But I lay my eyes on this “crystal” case and though not great by any stretch of imagination, it was pretty good. And what’s more, I had to pay < 50 Rupees for it. That’s cheap. It’s not authentic, but if you drop your phone, it will at least take a bit of the impact. When I bought the phone, the case wasn’t available yet. It has taken some time for it to come to the market.

The case: (I hate to call it crystal. It’s just molten plastic.)

Here are a few snaps of the case (on the phone) which I captured with a 1.3 MP camera. It looks really bad. (Thanks to a wonderful camera) I wish I had another k810i just to photograph my phone. Other phones don’t do justice.

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Photos with description:

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To see how the phone actually looks, read here

Sony Ericsson K810i

I am sure this happens to all of you once in a while. You get a friend request from a person you don’t even know. I don’t know, but there seem to be people out there who want to randomly make friends and talk exclusively on “Ssssup” and “How are you” and then top it with a “F-unny R-aunchy I-diotic E-ndocrine problem N-o shit D-eranged”  Testimnoial. Believe me, people do that. They are that bored in life. I thought I am bored and jobless. There seem to be people whose only purpose in life is to make people like me feel good about ourselves.

So, I get these few friend requests today. I was planning on not accepting any more friend requests simply because they (most of them at least. I tracked most of my friends on Orkut some 3 years back. ) are not my friends. Some of the people are acquaintances and that is perfectly acceptable. At least you know each other. But what bugs me is people who don’t know you at all or you know them for that matter, send friend requests. What’s more annoying ? They don’t have the decency to scrap you and introduce themselves either. Orkut gave them an option of doing that while sending a friend request. And they ignore that. Well, if you are not going to take the trouble of writing a line while sending someone a friend request, I don’t see what you plan to do once your request has been accepted. If you do it just to increase your friends count, then buzz off.

Features, New Themes and Apps:

Well, this is not really related to the title, but then some of the new features are ok. Like tagging people in photos. (Facebook ?)  However, the new themes look kinda sad and the spam is getting out of control too. As for the apps, they seem to be meant for the eternally jobless. I am not changing my theme, not adding any apps and yes, not accepting those friend requests either.)

My previous post has drawn some flak from all quarters. People were asking me about my “Peter” post and why I was being all “Senti” and “teary eyed” among a few other things. Well, I don’t (normally) write posts that are contemplative in nature.

Here is yet another contemplative post. I warn you so you may stop reading and go do something else more important. If you want to read on, don’t blame me. It’s “slighta” about my career. (But don’t wish me luck. Comments which carry “All the best for the future” will be frowned upon.)

Job:

Now, that I have planned to join Infosys (which I originally had planned on not doing. Let’s say circumstance (read lack of another job) has lead me into this decision), I guess I will have to work for a minimum of 16 months with them. That includes the 4 months (max. ?) training and then a further 1 year period. (I guess there might be a written bond)

Joining an IT company after doing a course in Electrical and Electronics wasn’t really what I had wanted to do. Don’t ask me what I wanted to do. It is because of me being clueless on that, that I am now typing this out. I was hoping that magically I would get into a Electronics company and they would assign me tasks and I would do my best to ensure I delivered what they wanted. Sad thing is, I never got in. Now, I am not against the so called IT field. I am not particularly bad at anything related to computers and being a EEE student, understand both the hardware and software of it. I can code. I am pretty decent with that. In fact one of the best things about learning to code is that we (Electrical engineers) use it in many things really. From power scheduling algorithms to machine design algorithms. So, programming and learning programming isn’t so bad after all.

I don’t wish to stay in Infosys for more than two years. That’s like the upper limit.

M.E. && M.S. / M.E || M.S. ?

I know I want to do a second (possibly also a third…and a fourth course ) now. But the problem is, I am not sure about a lot many things. First I don’t know whether I should be doing an M.S in the U.S straight away or first do an M.E right here in India and then do an M.S. Another option of course is to do the M.E. work a further 2 years and then do an M.S (by which time I would be really old ) Now, if at all I do an M.E in India, it will have to be one of the IIT’s. (I would have said IISc too, except I know I won’t get in. ) Now, I know I can crack GATE with some effort and secure a decent score.

Next comes the GRE. I don’t want to risk sounding pompous or anything, but I should think GRE should be easy. Well, maybe not a walk in the park, but definitely not something I would lose my sleep over. But then the M.S Admission Process doesn’t stop with that now, does it. There is so much more to do, unlike GATE.  I used to know a bit about these things a few years back, but then things have changed, and I am no longer in touch.

Even if I do decide (I am sure the scores will, even if I don’t) on whether I want to do an M.S or an M.E, there is so much more to decide. What course, which college. Man, it can be pretty difficult. The problem with me is, I really don’t know where my interest lie. I know what I am good at and what I can do, but within that, it is very difficult to choose a small niche segment and say, “Yea, this interests me the most.” I can’t. I am as interested in VLSI as I am in Power systems or in Signal Processing (although I assure you I have no credentials to support my interests. ) Will have to get started on things sooner than later.

Oh, I was talking to Shiva the other day and we got to chatting about how weird its going to be when I attend GATE and/or GRE classes with college kids. I will have to somehow hide this whole “I work” business and claim I am jobless and am sitting home doing absolutely nothing.

P.S: M.E in this post refers exclusively to and Master of Engineering in India, and M.S refers exclusively to an Master of Science in U.S. People who state that M.S is available in India as well are advised not to.

This is my 250th post. I thought of writing something spectacular, or something funny, or even looking back at my old posts.

But then, it’s time to say good bye. The last week I am going to be in Madras (assuming I will not be posted back here again, which I won’t mind.). Five days is all that’s left exactly. I have been here in Madras for the past four years right from the day my wretched twelfth grade marks came in and I knew my life was irreparably damaged. There have been ups and downs. More downs than ups really.

I still remember my first few days in Chennai when I was amazed at the beach and the distances involved. You see, coming from Coimbatore (which is equally nice) which has a city radius of about 5 kms, Chennai is a big city. And it takes time to get used to.

The Accident and the haircut:

I remember the day before the CET (Common Entrance Test, which was an eye wash anyway) I went to ICICI Besant Nagar to get tickets for Spiderman. On the way back, I fell off the vehicle after having driven into a huge pit on the road. It was night, see and I could not see the road. I assumed it was flat. It never is, not in India. So, I fell hands outstretched, and skidded for almost 20 meters. I lost the skin on my palms, my shirt and jeans were torn and the best part, my leather slippers had a hole in it now. What friction can do is amazing. I somehow managed to get home, bleeding and all. I was promptly taken to the nearest hospital and got myself all bandaged up. The place where the leather slipper had given way was now swollen twice the size. I had apparently cut a vein or something. Bah.

The next day, I went to the CET, with my palms in bandage. I couldn’t shade the ovals on the OMR sheet, I am telling you. I couldn’t bring my thumb and the index finger together to hold the pencil. What’s more, just before the accident the previous day, I decided to cut my own hair (after getting awfully bored sitting at home in a city I barely knew) to disastrous effect. The result was, with my bandages and limp and my haircut, I looked like a rabid guy.

The College Admissions:

Well, the less I speak about this, the better. I visited a few colleges on OMR with my dad. Some were outright bad and otthers quoted ridiculous capitation fees. KCG people were puzzling. They kept speaking without ever demanding a fee or saying no. I knew someone in MNM jain, through whom I could have secured a seat, but then as fate would have it, that person was not in town and was not expected in town for a few days. The principal thought we were kidding when we said we knew this guy. He must have thought we were kidding or something. I chose the college about which I cribbed for the next four years, in the counseling. That was the best I could manage and I had come to terms with it. Moral of the story: If you screw up in life, you got to pay.

First day in college:

This was quite strange. I joined college much later than the others because of having waited for the counseling. When I joined, the classes were already in full swing. I remember being assigned to a class by one Mr. Iyer (who I still admire) and walking into the class with a hundred odd eye balls staring at me. That I walk with a slouch wasn’t helpful either. I decided to start on a good note even with my first math class, where I gave some crazy values for Eigen Values and the teacher (Mrs. Selvi I guess) had to come to me and ask me to take it easy. Apparently, they had been doing this for a week or so. I kept quite for the rest of the class.

Something I noticed was that there were localized groups all over. People from the same schools, localities…etc. It is/was very hard to make friends (and I am not particularly good at that either). It has remained that way for four years. I don’t know a single guy in any other college either. This is what happens when you suddenly move out of a city onto another city and are an introvert on top of that. This meant, I would never belong to a group. The groups were already well defined. Also, I never got to know what was happening in other colleges, be it symposiums or classes in general. It’s hard that way you know. What’s worse, you can’t rig events in symposiums.

First Semester:

That I joined late was in a way good. People were nice to me and I made friends immediately, who are pretty good friends of mine to this day. The first semester was pretty enjoyable. I wanted to forget my 12th screw up and concentrate on the job at hand. Classes were fun (for me at least) and we didn’t have any stupid rules back then either.

We had amazing fun in our section. Marc and Bharani (a guy from ECE) were shuffled one day and then reassigned to A section after Marc protested. Apart from the classes, bus used to be fun too. Buses were never overcrowded back then. The Besant Nagar bus was fun. And OMR wasn’t under construction either. So there was no dust and hence no war attire.

I learnt C (the programming language) in the first year of my engineering. To that day, I had never seen C. Abhishek taught me the basics and I was determined to learn it. Well, I can’t say I know much of C, but then I know enough to write programs that work the way they are supposed to.

Ragging:

I never got ragged in the first semester. Contrary to what others may tell you, I walked alone always with a kind of confidence (some call it arrogance) that made seniors unsure whether I was a fresher or not. I never got into a discussion with people so I didn’t have disagreements.

It was second semester when I was ragged for the first time. I don’t know the guy, except he was in 3rd year back then and was a loser of sorts. I am sure he still has arrears. It so happens that I was giving some model exam and came out at 4:20 to find that the buses had left. Only one bus was left and after speaking to the transport coordinator who told me some staff had told him that everyone had left the exam halls by 4:00 and hence the buses had left, I boarded that bus. Someone from the back seat asked me why I was on the bus and I remember shouting back some expletives. There was a silence followed by questions being asked. When the seniors had made sure I was indeed in the first year, they decided to rag me. It was just the usual dumb stuff. Nothing creative. Sing a song, dance, say hi to that “akka”, say hi to that “patti”. I came out of it alright. Nothing serious.

Second semester and onwards:

Second semester involved me getting into a class which I hated and hate to this day. See, EEE isn’t always the most interesting bunch of guys. The course might be arguably the best, but guys like me choose it. On top of that, some people left college and some others transferred departments. It was a gloomy building as well.

I think second semester was quiet for the most part. I did nothing except attend a couple of symposiums and present a paper in one of them, which would be the only paper I presented till I was in my final semester.

With third semester came the symposium and I was (co)hosting the quiz and also the MC. The symposium went alright, but the time I had spent preparing for the events and staying late in college cost me a few grades. I’d say it was worth it. I remember attending Forays at IITM and making it to the debate (Big Fight) finals. I had gone alone and this was one of the individual events. Me and another guy from CEG-AU were the only non-IITans of the 8 finalists. I thought I did pretty well, and the others sounded lame, but then there was only one prize and that went, surprise of all surprises to an IITan. Now, that’s uncommon isn’t it ?

Fourth semester was pretty interesting from the academic stand point. But then apart from that, I have no recollection of what happened that entire semester. I am blanked out as of now atleast.

Fifth semester meant I was in third year now. Well, that’s second best isn’t it ? I must say, I enjoyed the 3rd year the best of all. By now, I knew Madhu and Shiva pretty well, and convinced them into being my quiz-mates. (to their dismay and groans) We attended quite a few symposiums and won a good percent of the events too. Academics was going alright as well.

Sixth semester came and that now meant Madhu and Shiva were busy with their project and could not team up with me any longer. I attended a few events alone and a few more with a few other people like Bala and Naveen of my class. We did manage to win a few, but it was never the same without Shiva and Madhu. Shiva had made it to the finals of Shaastra quizzes and Madhu was placed in three companies and got a rank in GATE. Imagine. We would molest any other team if it were a semi-technical event.

Seventh semester was boring to the point that I started bunking college regularly. I could afford that. I was in the final year now. Now, I teamed up with Abhishek and since he was in IT and me in EEE, we diversified into attending all department symposiums, except Mechanical of course. Once again, we had a good percentage of finals converts and we won a good deal of those finals as well. I earned some money that semester. The only thing that kept me engaged was the laboratory on Power Systems. It required us to write slightly hard programs on Matlab and no one (else) had a clue anyway. I had put in a lot of work into that lab. The electives were a bummer. Guys chose Biomedical engineering instead of better subjects.

Eighth semester has been the most boring semester till date. Very less classes, a symposium crammed into the 2 working days we had per week, which I skipped anyway. Each day in college was boring and there was this attempt of last minute bonding from all corners. We knew that the end was near and suddenly people didn’t want to let go. I did manage to present a few papers and win at a few symposiums. Abhi and I attended very few events this time over and what few events we attended, we did not do so well. I was adamant of doing the project on my own without assistance and was criticized both at home and at college for trying to be smart but being stupid. A lot of work went into the project, and there were many challenges I faced at each stage. But then I got to learn so much from them. The project exams came and the fact that I made a presentation for 40 minutes without the people interrupting me once made me feel good about myself. The final semester exams came and I found that the work I had put into my project cost me heavily in the exams. I had not bothered to so much as prepare for the exams. The exams came and went and we sat at home waiting for the results not knowing what was in store. Then the results came and though not good by any stretch of imagination, I had passed. That was it. I was/am an Engineer at last. (Nothing to be proud of)

And then the Infosys mail arrived, announcing that we have to report on the 23rd of June. Though excited at first, I am slowly realizing that, it could mean, I will never be in Chennai again.

Looking back, I think I did considerably well. I had a few restrictions imposed on me as a result of which I could not do any which thing I wanted, like write GATE for instance. (Just as my project was thought of as worthless, my eagerness to write GATE and do an ME or MS was immediately dismissed.) I have had some good times here. Walks to, on and back home from the Besant Nagar beach, on Annie Besant road. Cricket matches in CLRI. Colleges all over Chennai. Sathyam Cinemas and Spencers plaza. And more recently Ascendas. Finished college without getting into trouble. Landed a job. Made a few good friends. My only regret is that I never went out all that much. Never explored the city. Never made more friends. Here I am, on my last weekend in Madras, sitting in front of my computer, typing this long and boring post out. I haven’t been out of my house in three days now. I guess I am that way.

I never felt bad or even remotely emotional when I left college. But then leaving Madras isn’t the same, now is it ? There will be emotions and a visit back will never be the same….

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I went to the Passport Office today. (Shastri Bhavan,Haddows Road, Nungambakkam,Chennai). Guess how much time it took me to go into the office, find my way and all that and come out, receipt in hand ? Twenty Minutes. Really. That’s how much time it took me. I was stupefied. I have my friends Bala, Marc and Hari to thank.

You know the secret to getting things done the way you want and really quickly at that ? Information.

First, the Indian Passport Website is really informative and useful. There is scope for improvement, but then believe me, this is as much as you can expect really. You can find the following there,

• Application forms (for download)
• Instructions on how to fill the form
• Fee Structure
• How to apply
• Where to apply
• Tatkaal Scheme
• Affidavits
• Online Registration
• FAQ
• Check List

Among a few others….

Now, most things here are really detailed. They have given some thought to the questions the applicant might ask himself while filling the form. And tried to answer all those questions and structure the website such that it’s easy to navigate through.

Since my friends helped me out with a few things, that made things really simple for me, I thought I’d make yet another FAQ compilation. But I must warn you, I have not covered any of the questions to which you can find the answers in the website mentioned above. Duplication of content isn’t exactly my cup of tea. (Although, lots of bloggers thrive in it. ) Read that (set of official FAQ’s) first!!

Disclaimer: The FAQ’s below are not official and are Chennai specific. Further more they are specific to Shastri Bhavan (unless mentioned) and Normal Quota (not Tatkaal, and again, unless mentioned so.)

Never Asked FAQ’s:

(Not specific to Chennai)

1) I have a 5cm x 3.5cm passport size photograph. Do you think it’s ok?

Why would it be ok, when they have clearly mentioned that you need to affix a 3.5cm x 3.5cm passport size photograph ? It’s not ok. If you want to take the chances, you are welcome, but then if they send you back, you have yourselves to blame. I would suggest spending an extra 50 bucks so that there aren’t any hassles.

2) The form says the passport size photograph should have a light background (preferably white). Is that true ?

Yes. Light is compulsory. White is not. I gave my application in with a Grey background and they were ok with it. So no reason why they won’t take yours. But just to be safe, demand for a white background when you get your passport size photograph taken.

3) How do I sign across the photograph ?

Now, this is a question even I did not have an answer to. The form said “Paste your cross signed recent color photograph.” Now whether I was to sign on it and then paste it or whether I was to paste it and then sign it with part of the sign falling outside the photo, I wondered. I did the latter though and I was alright. You need to use a ball pen to sign on the photo (I don’t know if OHP marker would be acceptable.) and it’s quite hard actually.

4) Do I need documentary proof for Place of Birth ?

I did take my Birth Certificate (the one issued by the hospital and not the municipality. The municipality one, is given to the school you first attended and it was probably burnt in the fire in the office .), but then they said it was not required. If you have it, it’s best to take it along.

5) I want ECNR, and I have completed my B.E. However, I do not have my degree with me yet. I have my TC, Course Completion Certificate and all of my Mark sheets. Is that enough ?

No, actually. None of these would do. The TC and CC are not accepted. And they don’t have the patience to sit and look at all your 8 semester mark sheets. So, take copies (and original) of your 12th and 10th standard mark sheets. They asked for my 12th mark sheet in my case.

6) In the personal particulars form, under 10 References, can I give my own parents names ? Or someone else who resides in my own house ? Or my parents office address ?

No again. It needs to be someone other than your family who know you and who live nearby. And the address needs to be residential. It is best to have people who have the same postal code as yours listed as your references. And they need to have a phone number too. I doubt if these people will ever be contacted, but it is better to let them know that they might be.

(Questions Specific to my case-Normal Quota, Chennai)

7) How did you apply online ?

Look at the link that reads online registration on top.

8. What documents did you carry with you ?

For ECNR-10th Mark Sheet Original and two self attested copies, 12th Mark Sheet Original and two self attested copies.

For Address Proof-Bank Passbook with Photograph and Address with two self attested copies and Ration Card with two self attested copies. I also had with me my voter ID card and College ID card.

For Proof of Date of Birth-TC of the college last attended. Copy of Birth Certificate. I also had an assortment of other documents like voter ID, college ID and 12th TC,(Attested by Principal) which had proof of Date of Birth. Your passbook should also have the same.

9) Where did you submit the online application ?

There was this queue for Online registration to the left of the general queue. Look at the picture below to get an idea.

(Click on the picture to enlarge)

10) What do they do in the form verification ?

Pretty simple. They check if the application form is in order and you have the originals. As far as possible, carry all the originals you have with photocopies of the same. In case they say one of them is not acceptable, you can always produce the other(s).

Once you have satisfactorily submitted all documents, then you are asked to go upstairs and pay the money. Here again, the tatkaal queue(s) are pretty long, whereas the general quota queue(s) are very short. I had three people standing in front of me, of which I found out two weren’t even in the queue. Just standing there and talking.

I wanted to get a couple of snaps, but then Cell Phone Usage was not allowed inside and so I had to keep my shutter (camera’s) shut.

11) What’s the advantage of filling the form online ?

You don’t have to stand in the general queue and wait all day. However, with online applications, they give you an appointment some 4-5 days after you have submitted the form. You need to get this from printed out and fill a few other details yourself. Once you get your appointment date and time, be there at least 45 minutes early. (I went 15 minutes late, but you might not be that lucky)

The online queue is really short.

12) What additional steps did you take to make sure that you weren’t sent back ? I hear that happens a lot.

Yes, people take things for granted and do not have everything in place as required. Which is why they are asked to come back again. If your Ration Card, Voter ID and Passbook have different addresses (as in you stay in the same house, but the illiterate people who are sent to fill these forms for you and do not let you fill it yourself, screw it up and they now read addresses that are actually the same, but read differently, then you are better off not showing one of these originals.)

For instance, all of my address proofs had weird addresses. Thankfully, my pass book was in order. If you plan to have things hassle free, go to the Election Commission or whichever place they issues your Voter ID and get your address changed. My Pin Code was wrong. Instead of 41 which is Thiruvanmiyur, they had written 04 which is Mylapore. Dumbasses

Thought of a few more. Can’t remember it now.

It has been an incredibly pleasant day today, so far at least. I went to the passport office and came back home (Thiruvanmiyur-Nungambakkam-MTC Depot(Yes inside it.)-Besant Nagar-Thiruvanmiyur) in less than 2 hours. Speldid isn’t it ? Whats more, I walked from Besant Nagar to home and didn’t so much as sweat. Now, in Chennai, that’s quite something. The weather has obviously superb for the past few days.

I shall write about my experiences in the next few posts.

P.S: If you got the post title, good for you. Don’t brag though.