Me Vs Nihongo

Hello everyone. Hope everything is fine. Its been long time, rather a  veryyyyyyyyyyy long time since my post. Its been 25 days since my exams got over and its 11 19 PM i just decided to write something. But what shall i write? After a bit of delibration i decided to write something light (In the sense that i don’t get a WAR of Comments ). Well if u hadn’t guessed it right from the topic, this post is gonna be about my experiences learning “Nihongo”. Well the etymology of this word is ‘Nihon’ -> Japan and ‘Go’ -> language. In short my experiences durin my japanese classes. If i run a small flashback my tryst with ‘Nihongo’ started in december when the organisation which recruited me gave an option of learning japanese. Well fortunately or unfortunately (This only time will answer. Hope its former than the latter). I was one of the 20 students who got enrolled from my college. The classes were scheduled Tue, Thur and Sat 5 30 PM to 8 30 PM.

The first class started in december. My teacher asked us what we knew about japan. Those were the days when i was playin AOE2 quite regularly and i just said about the korean war and stuff thanks to AOE history of civilzation menu. And i barely controlled my giggles when my teacher said ” You have a very good knowledge about the country’s history and its relationship with neighbours”. Then came our first test. Most of us weren’t familiar with the alphabets and it turned out to be a open book test and that was the only test in which i have managed a PASS. We were supposed to finish with our JLPT Level 4 and level 3 portions before we join the company. Days passed, months passed JLPT level 4 came to an end. A mock test was conducted. It was a 3 hour test based on the JLPT pattern. As usual most of us didn’t study a thing as those were the days when our univ exams were nearin in. Our teachers got changed and we had a native japanese teacher or ‘Sensei’ teaching us.

The first part of the test was based on ‘kanji’ reading. Well if u dont knw what ‘kanji’ is, jus google and U will defintely get an idea of the difficulties. There were a couple of kanjis which i could recognize, the others were just a combination of lines and curves which created more confusion than clarity. (In short jelabi ah pichu pota mathiri erundhuchu). 

The second part was listening comphrehension. In short it was a total disaster.  Suthama pesarthu onnume purila. There were few known words amdist words which can be termed as ‘noise’. The third part was grammar. It was relatively ok compared to the previous two parts.When the results were announced, there were no surprises to know that out of a class of 26 only 3(ya all 3 were gals) had passed.

Well my japanese classes (were,) is (and will) never boring, thanks due to the people around me. Its loads of fun. People gettin teased and people teasin. There’s Mimicry Mannan “G K(arthik)”. The day he mimiced Hari’s, mine and host of others voices is unforgettable. Hari is known for his Idly and Getti chutney dialouge. Aashiq is the favourite of our ‘Sensei’ for whenever the words ”BEER” and “WINE” comes his name is attached to sentence or a reference is made to him. Then there is PUNTER POONAI a.k.a Sai Ganesh and NAVEEN who’s names are taken whenever sentences with ‘DATING’ and ‘GIRL FRIENDS’ are formed. U can guess the atmosphere and words exchanged when these sentences are formed!

RAGHAVENDRAN is the most regular person of our class. He always comes late ( It will definitely rain if he comes early) and once he gets settled down in his seat switches on the computer and starts browsin. And on IPL and other match days he constantly updates us with the scores. There is always a competion in these aspects between Raghav and Vishwesh(Velammal). Rendu perum potti potukitu late ah varuvanga and rendu perum potti potukitu scores papanga.

Did i miss anyone? Ah the class is never complete without VADAI san a.k.a Sriram. He is known for his intellectual questions. One day he had asked our teacher  “What will you do if there is a Volcano??”. WHat a quesion!! WHat a question!! A question which can stump the greatest of intellects in this universe. The rest of the class supports these great stalwarts by constant appreciation for their acts.

Thus goes my experiences durin my japanese classes. The recent test i got 7 on 30 and lets hope i get better marks in future tests. Yah athuku padikanum theridhu. Lets hope i do that too. Till my next post its Krishna signing off!! Adios.

KP
THE DEVILZ ADVOCATE

Women (In)Equality

Hello everyone. Nice to meet you after a brief lull. So whats this post gonna be. Am i going to be a pro - feminist and say women must be given equal rights and blah and blah or is it goin to be a post dominated by male chauvinism…. Well read on, you may find that out.

I was watching the railway budget session, Lalluji made some announcement about concession to all women till they complete their graduation. I thought thats a decent move to woo the female voters.

A couple of days after this, a friend of mine called me and said check the class groups, it seems some news about Microsoft placement. And when I checked the group mail, I was kinda taken aback, astonished, dumb struck(well i still cannot find the proper adjective). The mail read thus

“Hi ppl,

A  good news for our campus is that MICROSOFT was invited our college for the ‘All India Placements for Women Engineers!!‘

The criterion for placements if that one must me a B.E/B.Tech or M.E/M.Tech in C.S.E or I.T streams only.

Girls,

Please register at www.merittrac.net/microsoft………”

Now whats microsoft thinking?? I can understand Lalluji’s intentions, this being an election year. Does Microsoft think that men are incompetent or does Microsoft think “WOMEN ARE NOT CAPABLE ENOUGH TO COMPETE WITH MEN…”, thats a question, the answer for which still eludes me. 

Then came the Budget 2008. As a person whos gonna start earning in a few months, I was majorly interested on what PC would do about the “Direct Taxes”. The first announcement regarding the increase on tax bracket from 1.1 lacs p.a to 1.5 lacs p.a came amidst loud cheers. PC followed  it with a shocker “and for women 1.85 lacs p.a….”

Now why is this Inequality? Why are the major industries and the government trying to woo women? And most importantly why does a gender which dosen’t just say but boasts itself of not only being equal, but also being better to their male counterparts, be happy with such announcements? Can we infer from these announcements that the claim made by most of our female counterparts are just a hollow claim with no substance? If thats not the case why do they accept such offers which clearly shows women are weaker and need extra support?

There are some questions which cannot be answered. And there are some questions which people are afraid to answer. I think i’ll never get answers to my questions.

Till my next post adieu

KP - THE DEVILZADVOCATE.  

P.S

• What do i say here?? Just feel free to comment. I wanna hear your views especially the views of my female friends.

Moron Magnet - “Like Poles attract”

Hello everybody!! Hope you all had a wonderful 2007. I would like to wish you all a very very happy, prosperous and an adventurous 2008. Its been quite sometime since i wrote my last post. My exams, project hunt and above all my innate laziness have kept me away from writing. After some pestering by my friends Raghu and Vidya, here i am writing this post. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing this. And hey, i dedicate this post to all those intelligent people who call themselves moron magnets.

Well all of us know the meaning for Moron right!!?? In case u happen to have missed the word, a “moron” is a dumb or a stupid person. So what or who is a “moron magnet”?? The meaning is quite obvious isn’t it? A moron magnet is someone who attracts morons, as simple as it can get. The word “magnet” can be quite misleading and the presence of this word makes many intelligent (Duh) people calling themselves “MORON MAGNETS”. Now why is the word ‘magnet’ misleading?? Magnets attract, but its unlike poles which attract in the physical magnet. And this property of magnetism makes it quite fashionable and attractive for the usage of this phrase. Isn’t this usage justified? And ain’t I being a big moron  saying “Like poles attract”??

Well its very true that this property of magnetism holds really good in physical magnets, but, with respect to human magnets will the same law hold good. Now lets think of this scenario for a moment. We do make friends right? What do you think will be the criteria?? Compatibility, cohesiveness, ability to make adjustments to name a few. Now how possible or probable is it for two individuals with strikingly dissimilar likes and characteristics to strike a great, thick and close friendship and on the other side what will be the possibility or probability of two individuals with almost similar or complementing characteristics being best buddies?

Wanna think more. Lets take it to the next level. Would you want a life partner with very contrasting characteristics or would you prefer a guy/gal who complements your thoughts and lifestyle?

We all talk about matching wavelengths? With what kind of people do we expect matching wavelengths? Now if we are able to answer all the questions, it will give us a good idea about the characteristics of human magnets. Now I leave it to my readers to decide on whether I am justified in saying Moron Magnets - “Like Poles attract” after trying to think about the questions put forth previously. Your comments are always weclome and till my next post adios.

KP - The devilzadvocate

P.S:

1. The human attraction theory is very complex and i dealt only with the majority of cases. Don’t start an argument citing few exceptions. I believe that i dealt with a fact in majority of cases and if you find this contradictory i am open for arguments.
2. There can be arguments and comments and please don’t start a fight out here. This is my humble request.
3. Again I request you to not to comment as anon. Lets be brave in what we comment and stand by it if we are right.

From Friendship to Love - Betrayal or ?????

Hello everyone. The Devilzadvocate is back. Special thanks to Raghu, for its because of him i took out some time from my busy schedule(Which includes playin games, watchin TV and sleeping) and writing
this post. This post is dedicated to Raghu and to all those people who have experienced what this post is all about.

Friendship and love are the two most beautiful words in any language. And i believe most of us would have experienced both in some way or the other. But the thing which bamboozles everyone like a Muralitharan’s doosra is the transistion from friendship to love. I would say this is something which has the potential to torment or give the butterfly effect when ya think about it. It is said that there is a thin line which separates friendship and love, but the thing which goes unsaid is that you would never know as to when you breach that laksman rekha. Infact its a pity that sometimes people who cross the line fail to realize or dont want to realize the fact. King khan in his film Kuch Kuch hota hai quotes a few lines which conveys the meaning that his best friend would become his lover. Is this always the case? Do people really think it this way? The billion rather trillion Euro question is “Is it a Sin to propose a friend??”  Well the irony is that people not only consider this a sin, but say something like “BETRAYAL OF FRIENDSHIP”. According to me betrayal is too heavy a word to use. The acceptance or dismissal of the proposal according to me is strongly governed by the LADDER THEORY. It holds good especially for girls… No offences meant, but lets face the fact. Its mostly girls who say ” How can you say like this? U had betrayed our friendship. Friendship has lost its sanctity because of you and blah blah blah…” Goes on and on (even Duracell batteries will loose the race here). My poser to all those great minds would be ” Dont you people think that keeping something in his/her mind and sham around as if nothing is happening is a bigger crime??”. “Is it not a desirable quality to speak out your mind?”. Its time we grow up and accept certain facts as they are. If people say that understanding is the most important thing you expect from a person who is gonna share your life, whats the furore if a good friend with whom there is a considerable understanding expresses his/her desire?
So am I coming to say that you should accept a proposal from a friend? The answer to this question is a definite and a BIG “No”. What I want to say is dont go around slinging mud on the person who had committed the only offence of loving you. If thats what you think should be done… Bang your head once and start using your brains.

KP - THE DEVILZADVOCATE

P.S:

• If you have been on the receiving end, then one thing i would say  is “Don’t loose heart. You should rather be happy and thank god for saving you from a person who doesn’t deserve your love and your friendship. Yaaruku theriyum innoruvati ungaluku bulb yeriyalam, mani adiakalaam and this time its a story with the happy ending.
• If you think that u are being pestered by someone to love them. Then make them realize that love doesnt come by pestering. If the other person is an ass, then it warrants a more strict approach.
• Now dont give me the story that u love ur country, love ur parents blah blah blah. You must know what love i am talkin about. If u don’t either u are a 5 year old kid or a brainless moron.
• If you are gonna comment please dont be a coward and send it as anonymous. If you are not brave enough then you are not fit to comment.
• I would love to listen to your views.

And finally i couldn’t find an appropriate word to put in the title. I had filled with “?”. If you think that you can give me the word that i am looking for please do post it as a comment. And that person who gives the word i am looking for would get a “Diary Milk”(You gotta come and get it from me.)

College syllabus

We use Java dont we?? And here i have my class teacher telling me

1) Java is faster than C

My foot.. the only thing faster than C is assembly

2) It does not use pointers

I would say “explicit pointers” is a better term.. all objects in java can be used as references…. which are implicit pointers

3) Java doesnt use templates

“Generics have made their way into java”

4) Java doesnt use multiple inheritance and pointers because it is tough for the user to use

It does not exist because

i) Multi inheritance leads to multiple copies of a function which leads to run time collisions.

ii) Pointers lead to access of memory outside the vm.. so it leads to security lapses

5) Java has a very good inbuilt GUI called ATK..

yuck!!!! ATK is an ” Abstract” window toolkit

Swing is the real GUI toolkit

And i would recommend that anna univ upgrades its texts to the latest .. or atleast current stable version of java

Like programmers say it..

“Lets go dynamic”

Java - Lives By Its Fame Or Does It Live on its fame

Well.. Take a look around.. Turn around.. yeah.. thats right… if you are a CS student, or a major or JASP(Just another software programmer), you would find at least one book on Java, be it Schildt or Deitels or just their very own docs.. No?? You dont?? Look at the tutorials folder you have on your PC.

JAVA - Four letters that people claim evangelized the software industry. While some swear by this, others say “Only C++ is for grown-ups”. Yeah.. YAWN.. this is  JAD(Just another Debate )

But for once.. I wont bring in C++. Look. C++ is for matured programmers who dont fear tougher constructs. I personally love C++ and given a choice would program in C++ any day. But the thing is i use the Gtkmm toolkit for C++. Apart from this my C++ program isnt directly compilable windows. You need the g++ compiler on Cygwin. That actually led me to rediscover Java. I previously use java (jdk 1.3) to create applets and command line interfaces.. I never used it as more than a toy. Reason: I thought it was a toy.

But as I kept programming with Java, i came across a lot of +ses in it.. and quite a few -ses too

Java : +ses

1) Compile once :  Send the jar to your buddy and he will see the same stuff as you
2) Code Beauty  :  I can count the various  types of constructs you see 1)  Classes and Interfaces 2) methods 3) generics(1.5 onwards) and packages. I had to use 1)classes 2) structures 3) pointers 4) templates 5) preprocessors 6) virtual stuff 7) Lots more.. Cant recollect em all. I knew them.. But this wasn’t too convenient you see..

3) Simplicity

4) Security

5) Exception Handling: which far exceeds C++’s primitive integer throws, this returns full-fledged objects

6) Applets

7) Fully class oriented approach

Enhanced For loops (Since 1.5) . I loved them in Ruby

9) Package oriented design

10) Confidence. Java is a haughty language. It s already famous and knows it.

11) The bytecode: Scala, JRuby, Jython and Groovy have used this among many

12) The packages it comes with.

Java: -ses

1) No pointers : Well yeah.. Security improvements are got without them.. But still.. i still  love them.. Yeah and i know what references are …

2) The JRE : The JRE aint as portable as the language. It bloats up the whole mechanism. this has been almost set right by the 1.6 release

3) Speed: Java has to lick C++’s shoes here. It however makes up for this by increased coding efficiency.

4)  The mystic X: Lame Excuse. Gimme a million reasons, but i will continue loving C++

5) Unlike the popular myths, there is still more software being developed on C and C++ than Java and the rest put together

Overall:

Yeah.. Java does live on its fame. But it does enough to survive even if everyone’s memories are wiped and poeple are given a language to work on. On reading on another if Java did anything new, i came to see that java did the old things.. but did it well… its merit lies not in innovation but in mixing it up the right way

I would give java an 8.5/10 overall.. of which 5.5 will be for the killer collections and packages it comes with.

THE BOY WHO LIVES???

“July 2007″ can be called as the Potter month with a Potter movie and the final edition of the Potter book being released. The movie turned out to be nothing but disappointment for most of the Harry Potter fans( People who read the book, I think, will agree with me.). Then came “the Deathly hallows” with sky rocketing expectations. “The half blood prince” had set a very good platform and uncountable speculations as to whats going to happen in the final edition of the Harry Potter series. The book starts with the Dark Lord ascending to power terrorizing the wizarding and the muggle community alike. The boy who lived has a mission entrusted by Dumbledore, that of finding and destroying the Horcruxes, thereby putting a halt to the Dark Lord’s rule. So what can you expect when the Dark Lord raises to power? Deaths of course… This book has the maximum number of characters loosing their lives facing the Dark Lord’s wrath. Ron and Hermoine as usual accompany Mr. Potter in his mission. They have no clue as to where the Horcruxes are hidden and what they were going to face. They are left with a golden snitch, the deluminator and a children’s book which Dumbledore had left them. Their miseries are increased when a book by Rita Skeeter brings into light some unbelievable facts about Dumbledore.

With Dark Lord hot on their trail and virtually no help the story moves on find answers to innumerbale questions which were left unanswered in “The Half Blood Prince”. Who is RAB? Is Snape a traitor or whether he killing Dumbledore was “For a greater good”? The life and lies of Albus Dumbledore.What are the “Deathly Hallows”? The romance involved. Is Dumbledore really dead? Is Harry one of the Horcrux? And the most vital “will the boy who lived survive”? The best way to know the answers for these question is to read the book or eh wait for the movie( I hope justice is done atleast to this version of Harry Potter.) or ask your friends who had already read the book(You are sure to miss some key points this way). The Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is unmistakably the best book of the Harry Potter series( It may tend to get emotional some times and you may feel that you are watching a Indian movie…. But you never get bored). “All was well” is the final sentence of the book. Hope you have a good read.

THE DEVILZADVOCATE

KP

NANOTECHNOLOGY - From fiction to reality

The following is an article which i wrote for my symposium souvenier. I had compiled information from various sources including wiki and how stuff works. Hope its useful for a beginner.

The Devilzadvocate - KP

“Good things come in small quantities” goes a popular saying. Imagine that you are able to manipulate individual atoms so as to give shape to a product with the precise structure. Are we talking science fiction? Or does it sound impossible and crazy? We are talking nanotechnology.

What is it? And is it new??
Nanotechnology is an umbrella term that is used to describe a variety of techniques to fabricate materials and devices on a nanoscale. One nanometer is one billionth of a meter which is roughly the size of 10 hydrogen atoms put together. Using nanoparticles is not something new. It might be interesting to note that nanoparticles were used by the Chinese and Romans some thousand years ago. Degusssa since 1920’s have been producing carbon black, which makes the car tyres black and improves their resistance to wear and tear. Then what’s special in this technology that it attracts lots of funds and every organization is pumping in money for research into this field. The answer is quite simple the people we discussed about didn’t have any control over the particle size nor were they aware of the nanoscale which we are talking about. The thing which is new about nanotechnology is not only our ability to manipulate things on the nanoscale but to have a greater understanding of the atomic scale interactions.

Construction using atoms:
Assemblers: Assemblers can be programmed to manipulate atoms and molecules at will
Replicators: Replicators are programmed to create more assemblers.

Trillions of assemblers and replicators will work together to construct a product. It might be interesting to note that trillions of assemblers and replicators will occupy an area lesser than one cubic millimeter and will be invisible to the human eye.

Applications – An overview:
Nanotechnology has a wide range of applications ranging from manufacturing industry to the field of medicine. In manufacturing industry it can be used to produce stronger and cost effective consumer goods. If we can succeed in replication of food grains we could remove famines from the face of earth.
It can be used to fabricate processors and memory devices with high speed and storage capacity but in the size of a sugar cube. Nanotechnology has a great impact in the field of medicine. It has a wide range of applications like modifying the cancer cells and virus to make them harmless, to provide oxygen to the RBC’s, to perform surgeries which require no incision, the list goes on. It is also said that we can use nanobots to increase the life expectancy and reduce the aging process.

Nanobots – Weapons of Mass destruction:
There has been numerous works of fiction elucidating the use of nanobots in the field of warfare and the after effects. Nanobots with their limited ability to mutate and replicate can pose little or no threats. One nanobot of the nature which would be of interest in this regard is the “Virus”.

The birth of a new revolution:
Nanotechnology has the capacity to revolutionize the future era. If the promises offered by this technology are realized fully we can be assured of a better quality of life with durable goods and a healthy life. Any technology which is used against the principles of nature will lead to imbalance and hence destruction. Nanotechnology is no exception.

The ScriptDevil Column -DevilTalk

This is a column that is to be 90% tech, 10% rant column written and edited by the ScriptDevil. If you wanna read only this column.. check out the categories ScriptDevil. This is one among  the many mercurial changes in this blog.

This column, from now on called DevilTalk, will focus on languages that are not mainstream, OSes that are Open Source, constructs that are geeky and in more common terms, what I, the ScriptDevil, like to do in my day to day life.

Keep reading.. and Keep Informed

-ScriptDevil

SIVAJI - THE “MASS”

After a wait of around 3 years another Rajni film gets released and the craze for his films seems to increase exponentially. So whats Sivaji all about? Why was it able to gross around 25 crores in the first week? Why were people willing to shell out hundreds and sometimes thousands to get a ticket during the first week? The answer for all the above questions is one name, that of a man who rules tamil cinema with his superior style, “RAJNI”. Another notable name which was eclipsed in this film was that of director Shankar. Shankar commands his own audience and has produced big hits even when there are no big names. So is Sivaji Rajni’s film or Shankar’s film? I could see the touches of Shankar only in the songs and quite a bit in the first half. Sivaji is an out and out Rajni film with some minor refreshing changes. Notable among these changes are the intro music when name Rajni gets displayed, Rajni getting hit for a change by the Villan, the song sequence during the first night and the appearance of MGR during the final stages of the film.

The story of Sivaji is nothing new. Its about an NRI who comes to India and wants to do good for the people. As usual the baddies don’t like it and give him a lot of trouble. The hero triumphs finally….. Errrr…….Haven’t you heard these kinda stories somewhere?? Shankar’s films are known for the messages it gives to the public and this film is no different. The “BLACK MONEY” which is hoarded in India and what can happen to the nation if the black money turns white has been stated in very smooth flowing screenplay. Shreya plays the lady love of Rajni and provides cloying glamour in the song sequences. She looks cute as a homely “Tamil Ponnu” in the rest of the movie. Vivek has done a good job with his comedy. One more name which deserves  limelight is that of the Villan, Suman a.k.a Adisheshan(in the film). He fits perfectly well in this role. Sparks fly in the face to face sequences between Rajni and Suman. Some notable cameos are that of Raja(Pattimandram), Solomon Pappaiya, Vadivukarasi, Livingston and Raghuvaran.

It’s a pity that a talented actor like Manivannan has been made to sit without any scope for acting. I didn’t even see him speaking a lot of dialouges. Nayanthara has cut down a lot of fat and is unrecognizably beautiful in Balleleka song. The Music by AR Rehman lives upto its reputition. The picturisation of all the song sequences are good. The fact that Rajni has added some fat in his belly region is evident in cetrain sequences. The sets for Vaa je vaa je, Sahana and Athiradikaaran are extravagent. Athiradikaaran especially with a cowboy type of setting is a pleasure to watch. All the stunt sequences are brilliant evevthough they may defy logic and all the physics laws. You will definitely enjoy the stunt sequences. They are youthful and the camera has been used very well in these sequences.

 The first half is light filled with romance and comedy whereas in the second half Rajni manifests into a Messiah. His new style with the one rupee coin and his trademark punch dialouges( Thankfully he has kept it to a minimum and haven’t made them cliches) are refreshing. I could see the traces of Gentleman, Mudalvan and Swades in this particular film. The film lacks a solid story and mark me if there was some other hero it would have been brushed aside…

My rating: Nah watch it and rate it yourself… 

Bottomline: Rajni, Rajni, Rajni, Rajni………………………………………Rajni -The “MASS” Prevails…. Chumma pera ketale Athirum………

KP