LIFE is TOUGH and then you GRADUATE

I like...I agree

2010-05-09T23:48:00.005-04:00

Chetan Bhagat's speech @ Symbiosis....

Don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes – Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school. Where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark – don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said – don't be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? Its ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

Don't be serious, be sincere.

For full speech @

http://www.rajmahendra.com/2008/09/01/chetan-bhagat%E2%80%99s-speech-at-symbiosis/

The Ugly Truth About Success and Failure

2009-10-17T13:31:00.009-04:00

I failed and succeeded multiple times in my life but never experienced such an intense response. I realized that success and failures brings out the ugly truth; the difference between real friends and just friends (acquaintances) from the set of people I call friends.

The events in the last week or so have turned my life around. From being hopeless about the future to suddenly planning a brighter one, everything changed in 5 days. Never ever in my dreams I had ever thought this would happen so fast, but I think the negation of Murphy's law (If anything can go wrong, it will) got better of me.

Since then I have been observing an interesting change in behavior of the people around me. I am most of the times oblivious to the reaction of the people around me. I have been through multiple events where some people around me described me as socially inept or a misanthrope. This time I have been forced to change the approach and observe closely the people around me due to some of the responses. Human beings are either social or antisocial animals and without a choice I have to be in one of those categories (I fall in later most of the times, :P).

I had calls from people I hardly ever expected. Completely bummed I had to retrospect and recalculate the imbalanced equations I had in my mind. I suddenly realized the people I hardly spoke to and never ever bothered about, were genuinely happy for me. I had a feeling that some out of those had a strong dislike for me, I was wrong and I was happy for a change I was wrong. Some of the words just changed my opinions about the people, I could feel the genuineness in the words and I was stunned for the first time in several years. The good old friends didn't disappointed me either. They were there in the rough time and it was good to know they were still around when the time has improved.

Also it was good fun to watch people who once wrote me off as a loser coming to congratulate. It is amazing how such people change their opinions about a person based on their success and failure w.r.t time. Their opinions are like a sine wave and such people are the most dangerous to have around. They judge the person by his social status more than his character and are highly untrustworthy. I would prefer to be at the top of the hate list of such people (I guess am very successful in this). I call such people the sine wave people.

I accidentally discovered another set of people who say, nice things on face and will slander in absence. In general their opinion about successful people is that they succeeded because they got lucky (with very few or no exceptions to this rule according to them). I still fail to understand if it is their jealousy or prejudiced opinion about that person that makes them sulk. More than a category this is a tendency and I call Sullander (Sulk+Slander). I would be lying if I say I never had this tendency, but I am happy I have banished this long back. I think every one of us at some point of time in life has this tendency and I don't think there is an exception to this statement.

Over the years I have met many people who were suppose to be my friends and only a few have lasted. I think it is the mutual respect and value for character that keeps me and them together. Instead of judging each other on success and failures we have judged each other by the character.

It is the people who criticize when you are wrong but never write you off, praise when you succeeded but make sure you keep your feet firmly on the ground are the people I call real friends. The act like a feedback loop that helps you achieve the set point and stops you from loosing stability. They are far and few and they get filtered with success and failures in life.

Over the years based on the ugly truth concept I have realized that real friends are not always the ones I hang out with or share most of my time with, real friends are those with whom I share my success and failures alike. They might be the ones I speak once a month or once a year or some whom I meet every day, its not a quantitative but a qualitative measure.

I have coined a saying for the ugly truth,

There is a set of friends who want to participate and share your joy, and there is a set who will share your sorrow, the intersection of the two sets gives you the set of friends that you want to share your success and failure with !

How to DEBUG COMMANDLINE PROGRAMS in VS2008

2009-04-22T20:35:00.000-04:00

This is for less knowledgeable people like me....It took me 3 days to figure it out... I googled a lot and never managed to get an answer for this....either it is assumed too simple and obvious or ..........

Debugging a code which runs via a command line where you type in executable file name and arguments to be passed to it....

e.g. executable file name -> lp_solve
@command line
>>lp_solve [input arguments]
>>lp_solve model.lp

You cannot debug this file just by clicking the debug option as the "argc" and "argv" will never get initialized.

There is very simple setting in VS2008 (it might work for other versions of VS but is not tested).

1] Go to project->properties
2] In properties -> Configuration properties -> Debugging
3] Debugging opens a tabular structure in the right half
4] Select Command Arguments
5] Type all the input arguments in double quotes in Command Arguments (you are done)

6] Close the dialogue box, put some break points and click on the play button in debug

Thanks to Cibin George for his valuable input.

....moral of the story consult the experts. If you can google it in 3 hrs you cannot in 3 days....

(SIMPLE THINGS in LIFE are NOT ALWAYS OBVIOUS)

The Funny Concept called Earth hour

2009-03-30T18:08:00.000-04:00

..........this concept of earth hour is against physics...

see how

Light and electrical appliance are supposed to be switched off to save energy......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Hour

by definition.....shut all devices runing on electricity....
1) Lap top is 'on' using a battery [1] that was charged using the electricity before and when u switch it back u will use the same amt to charge it back.... I will charge my laptop at 9:30 again wohoooo.....

saving = 0

2) Cell phone on [1] ...battery charged...blah blah.... i will charge cell phone at 9:3-pm ....

saving = 0

Now the biggest QUESTION for all................

... anybody who answers this convincingly.......i will take my words back.....

Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed...............................

Einstein
[1] siddharth's blog [http://when-us-beckoned-me.blogspot.com/2009/03/earth-hour-2009.html]
save energy = convert and store
use it later... !!!! :(

So i think the concept should be "save energy for future" and not save energy...

2009-03-30T17:56:00.001-04:00

...i got bored writing technical paper and thought writing blog would be interesting..........

but now I know....................

thinking itself SUCKS...........and writing SUCKS more.............

read these

2008-10-28T18:57:00.000-04:00

http://experience-it-all.blogspot.com/2008/10/first-day-of-diwali.html

http://vaidehi-confinedspaces.blogspot.com/2008/10/she-was-calling-my-name.html

they make me nostalgic.....

.......thts geeky....I like it........

2008-08-22T13:14:00.000-04:00

"I m sure that I will always be
A lonely number like root three

The three is all that's good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath the vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine

For nine could thwart this evil trick,
with just some quick arithmetic

I know I'll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality

When hark! What is this I see,
Another square root of a three

As quietly co-waltzing by,
Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer

We break free from our mortal bonds
With the wave of magic wands

Our square root signs become unglued
Your love for me has been renewed"

Its difficult.....

2008-08-20T22:34:00.000-04:00

Its difficult when things go wrong.....

Its difficult when you want to but cannot react...

Its difficult when you want to cry but u cannot...

Its difficult when expressions desert you.....

Its difficult when more things go wrong...

Its difficult when you fail but cannot tell....

Its difficult when future is suddenly uncertain....

Its difficult when there is no one to share your grief....

Its difficult when its dark and without a ray of hope....

Its difficult to start from the scratch...after 23 yrs....

Its difficult when no one understands you.....

Its difficult when optimism in you starts dying....

Its difficult when success achieved is just a mirage.....

Its difficult when your motivation leaves you suddenly....

Its difficult when your friend, philosopher and guide leaves you for ever...

Its difficult when life seems empty......

Its difficult when you work hard and cannot reap its fruits....

Its difficult when ambitions of yesterday seem empty day dreams today.....

Its difficult when all achievements go unappreciated........

Its difficult...........

When 'American Dream' turns out to be a 'Disaster'.....!!!!

2008-08-20T19:27:00.000-04:00

If I survive the disaster successfully...... I might write bestseller....after 20 yrs.........

Why do things happen......???????

2008-07-27T14:14:00.000-04:00

It was not expected.
It was not suppose to happen...

Why ?
why ?
why ?

"Sometimes I hate this unpredictability of life........"

and then somebody gave me words of wisdom.........

"life is all about unexpected things...."

"it just makes humans stronger by going of the track..."
"everyone has these phases at some point........"

2008-06-24T22:24:00.000-04:00

Calvin.......

2008-05-01T00:09:00.000-04:00

I imagine bugs and girls have a dim perception that nature played a cruel trick on them, but they lack the intelligence to really comprehend the magnitude of it.

Laws of Graduation....

2008-03-19T13:53:00.000-04:00

Thats a reality......

2008-03-19T13:48:00.001-04:00

How True........!!!!!

2008-03-19T13:41:00.001-04:00

It cannot get more accurate than this......

2008-03-19T13:31:00.001-04:00

2008-03-08T05:57:00.001-05:00

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth…

Robert Frost, 1916

2008-01-22T15:13:00.000-05:00

2008-01-08T14:05:00.000-05:00

'Research Diagram/Research Reality'

1 'Productive procrastination?'

2007-12-21T17:38:00.000-05:00

RUTGERS FOOTBALL 2007....!!!!

2007-11-18T20:44:00.001-05:00

This a poem gives the gist of Rutgers football team performance over the year 2007.....

We were suppose to be the BEAST from the EAST,
After earlier sensational victories ,
We have withered like mist,
With injuries and broken wrist,
And more losses than wins on the list,
This is R U football year 2007 in a gist,
Next time I hope they have a big winning list,
Which will give me a chance to punch in air my Fist....!!!!

....NEEL....

Relationships....!!!!

2007-11-18T20:16:00.001-05:00

Some relationships start soar to become sweet,
Some start sweet and go soar,
But the relations that really last long,
are the ones that come to the fore.

I want the relationships to become sweet that have gone sour,
But the ship is deep inside the sea of sour,
I want to dock it, but i see all sea and no shore.

The problem is at the core,
The optimist inside me can accept this any more,
Relationship is like ore,
It has to be enriched to make it Roar.

I want a second chance to set wrong things right with time galore,
Because yeh dil maange more....!!!!

....Neel....

RUTGERS Vs West Virginia the BIG EAST game....!!!!

2007-11-04T10:07:00.000-05:00

RUTGERS playing South Florida excitement in the air !!!! Suddenly they score.....and Rutgers is down 0-7... !!!! We all start swearing.....what the f***k how can the defense be so hopeless and start our expert comments on what the Rutgers team should do, the experts from fall2007 cedar lane gang planning strategy for the game they are watching first time....that sounds interesting isn't it. But I think American football is a game where its safe to comment from outside than playing it. Suddenly Rutgers score and I realize I have started liking the game that I till thought was stupid, idiotic waste of time. Suddenly the idea to get tickets for the next game is in the air and we all start scrambling for GSA ticket lottery mails. 2 days and Lo and Behold every one gets tickets and the excitement is at the peak. In the lecture after the lecture we are busy planning how to distribute ticket, who will make it who will miss...lists are out...revised every day.....The D day arrives we are scrambling to find our RED T shirts, sid is busy...making a posters to stick on his shirt... GO R U reads the poster...and it looks really funny on his shirt.....
Reaching the stadium we are in for a pleasant surprise...free RUTGERS t shirts....the mood in the camp is now really charged....
and here comes the Rutgers Band playing the Rutgers song.... the match now seems like nothing less than a grand ceremony.... Rains are the order of the day...stadium in empty not standing up to my expectation of stadium filled to the brim for this crunch game. There is giant screen behind us ... charging the atmosphere by playing some fast numbers metallica, final countdown....and the list goes on...
Teams arrive , the match begins and so does the disaster. It starts pouring rain and touch downs, unfortunately the touch downs are by opponents. Seniors are explaining me the rules of the game....and I am watching in despair my team going down without a fight...we are no match to west virginians....they have stolen the thunder. The interest starts wanning .....and the photo session start...every one wants a pic with the screen with the field in the background.... and the groups photos how can you miss those... The writing is on the wall...RUTGERS is down and almost out... so are half the cedar gang members down with rain and the cold weather....
Match is over...I am thinking am I robbed of 20 bucks that I spent for the match...this is not the match the result I had come to see....I think and realize, there are many things in life whose results are opposite to what you expect....this is just a game...
Inspite of the result I am in love with the game....and in the evening I am off to Johnson Park to play American Football for the first time....

Stautory Warning: Reading this blog can be injurious to your Mental Health !!!!

2007-10-27T09:45:00.001-04:00