...nOOdled thOughts...

India Shining... Or Is It?

2009-03-15T18:15:00.004+05:30

Okay this is what I had posted on my other blog. And I think it can be put up here as well, so I have just copy-pasted it below:

There has already been a lot of talk about how India and China are emerging as superpowers. But that hardly means they are not poor or living standards are improving or anything we take for granted. In fact, if we talk of the present, China seems to be in a better position in all respects and India is way far behind. But if we look at current policies and other factors which shape the future, then the story doesn't seem to be that clear.

I know I should give logic to my claims or provide verifiable facts and refrences to what I say, but instead I would give you a link to a professional research paper by Deloitte Reseach. Anyone - irrespective of an understsanding of ecomonics - should look into it to get their facts right. It isn't what most of think... unfortunately.

Link: http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/US_ChinaIndiaReality_Research.pdf

PS: Everyone wish Anaya luck for her last paper - IT.

Ashonomics

2009-03-03T06:44:00.003+05:30

Now this might seem like I am using nOOdled thOughts to advertise Ashonomics because... maybe I am. But that is only because this blog will not be updated very soon like mentioned earlier because my co-author has her exams which will last a little under a month from now. So in the mean time feel free to read my other blog. Link to it is http://ashonomics.blogspot.com/.

Announcement for our dear followers!!

2009-02-20T01:08:00.004+05:30

Dearest follower,
Apparently there is some problem with the Blogger auto-update and some tweak in our template. You guys would not be receiving any new post information on your dashboards even if you are following this blog. I am working on the problem and will fix it as soon as I can... if I can :P

Mean while use RSS or Atom feed. They are way cooler. Just open the posts feed and click on subscribe (or equivalent). A auto-updating drop down menu will be bookmarked on your choice of location (e.g. bookmarks toolbar).

--
Man at Work ;)

Update: I fixed the problem. I took only 3.14 mintues!! And now... we are back.

Yey!!

2009-02-19T22:54:00.003+05:30

Finally my exams are over!! And that's only for a while though. They'll be coming around again in four weeks. But now I have access to Blogger again. And so posts will be coming in. And in the mean time I have been playing around with Blogger. Trying to upload new templates. But anybody who's been trying to do that would have been be faced with the dilema of either shooting the Blogger team in the nuts or some-other-thing-really-really-bad-which-I-couldn't-come-up. That is because if you were being smarty pants and were uploading a XML file you would be punched by the bX-39cc9q error. Or if you were being a nice person and only pasting the HTML code there itself then you would be slapped with bX-bliced error. But my friends there is nothing to worry about. I can help you out with that. But because I am too tired (read lazy) to write it here and that I want interested people to vist my new just-started blog I'll give you the link to the post there. I was facing this error while creating that very blog.

Solution: Ashonomics: Solution to bX-bliced and bX-39cc9q.

--
Ashish

An update about updates

2009-02-09T23:43:00.006+05:30

Ahh...
It's the month of February and more than love, It's raining exams!

Yesh guys!
The 'co-author' has her 12th std board exams coming up and the 'author' unfortunately can't access his own blog. ;)

All I'm trying to tell you is that, there might be a small-ish delay in the next update of ours.

So, until I'm done with my board exams (that take away nearly an entire month of my life)
or
until Ashish gets his own wireless connection, we'll have a little less of noodle-nutrition than we ideally should....

Till we get back, wait for us and then well, you can, like the cliche goes, 'expect the unexpected'
:)

---
Anaya.

Things you can do so we know you are liking this... or not.

2009-02-02T02:24:00.020+05:30

If it's free, it's advice; if you pay for it, it's counseling; if you can use either one, it's a miracle.

~ Jack Adams

Okay here's what, we are going to keep it really short. Here are two sites that you should find more amusing than Googling about whatever you Google about.

Use StumbleUpon to go to random interesting pages based on your interests.
Use Digg. It is a place where people digg interesting articles on the interweb. And if you read the most dugg pages that day, most times you will find the next day's global news there.

Now that, that's cleared let's get down to business. Here's how we want you to help us out. But before that you will be required to sign-in into Blogger using a Google Account. Preferably yours.

Comment. To comment, you just click on the "comments" link at the bottom of each post. (Yes, people have asked!) And please do comment.
Become a follower. Below the map on the left there is a "Follow this blog" link.
Select a reaction to the post. All you need to do is click on it. You can choose multiple reactions. If it was boring, do let us know in the comments section so that we know we have been too frank.
Abuse your fellow readers using the shoutbox.

That's all for now. Go ahead and spice the noodles up! Peace.

Ashish and Anaya

Supercars, Jets, Industries: Can the future still be green? The geeks have found an answer. Two acutally...

2009-01-31T23:17:00.026+05:30

Supercars. Boys love 'em, men own 'em and the ladies dig anyone who has them. They go around corners like hot knife in butter and have a speed that will shake the 15-year-old inside half to death. But there is something else. What about the planet? Their carbon emissions are as much as their thrill, if not more. So what are we supposed to do if we care for the planet but at the same time floor it? Sit home and kill that every mounting urge to mug your ex-boss's Ferrari which he just bought before being prosecuted for corruption? You are about to find out.

But before that some things need to be cleared up:

Why are carbon emissions so dangerous? Carbon emissions warm it up which causes the ice to melt and thereby causing an increase in water level which is not good because if the blah blah blah...
Is commuting by public transport, like trains, the answer? No.
Why? Because recent study shows (and by that I mean by calculations and statics and things we half-witted people would not understand) that running trains produces more carbon per person than cars. And that is calculated when trains run on full capacity.
I know where you are going. You want us to go around in lunch-box sized electric cars in which case I would have to start for office the night before because they are that slow. No.
Hydrogen cars? No. Even though it is true that BMW has launched it's first commercial hydrogen fuel-cell powered "luxury performance" car. (They call it the Hydrogen 7 if you must know.) But the production of hydrogen is not really in the same vicinity of green. No, not even remotely!
You have gone nuts! That is debatable.

The thing is, thanks to Shelby SuperCars (SSC), electric cars will no longer be as slow as Mr. Bush's witt and a full battery charge will be possible before your child grows up. They would also go further than your neighbour's parking on a single charge. Yes sir, this is science fiction, not. The Ultimate Aero EV, which launches in 2009, will do a 0-60 in 2.5 seconds with a top speed of 208 mph. Single charge goes 150-200 miles and takes only 10 minutes on a 220V supply. I kid you not. Most importantly it is bigger than your dog's food tray. For those who have spent their lives in caves for the past few centuries these performance statics are unmatched even by standard petrol/diesel cars and most supercars.

And there's more. Nerds at Bentley are all set to launch their fastest GT ever. Even more exciting (?) is that it will run on fuel-produced-using-poop which is generally euphemized as bio-fuel.

Speaking of bio-fuel, Air New Zealand was successful in avoiding any "emergency water landings" or any other euphemisms for that matter when their (and the world's) first ever commercial flight using bio-diesel safely landed at the destination they promised their passengers. Now that is something, especially from an industry which is willing to lie so much about their arrival and departure timings.

To summarize, electric cars are not batteries with wheels, they are more just that. And crapping was never more useful than it will be now. (So will petroleum engineers now be called poop engineers?) And the train harms more than your car - so definitely even more that your bike :P.

Something for Google fans: Google about partly Google funded Aptera 2e from Aptera Motors, a Carlsbad startup, which goes into "volume" production in October this year.

--
Ashish

Outrage!

2009-01-27T22:26:00.023+05:30

We just celebrated the Republic Day by bringing back the blog from the dead....
But seems like we were not the only ones using the Republic Day to make our presence felt to the world...
There were a few others, too...
I'm of course referring to those whose existence benefits more cartoonists than citizens...
The politicians!
The Republic Day, a day to mark the time when we accepted democracy and a more civilized way of life, is increasingly used by these men as a way to publicize and in some cases, impose their agenda on us.
In the name of moral policing, love for the locals and many such empty pretexts, we're seeing a rise in the number of violent incidents that are taking place.
If this is all that the politicians can do for us, then we must really ponder if they are the right ones, and are they really capable of doing their jobs as representing you and me? are they worth going out there, and being voted for?
Assaulting women, attacking a defenceless school are not how the potential 'people's representatives' behave!
Back here, when we dared to venture out on Republic Day, we were practically were pushed off the road to let a BJP bikers procession go!
All we did was curse for nearly half an hour, waiting for those hooligans, who were into bike-stunts for no apparent reason- to clear the road.
I'm OK with processions, but the arrogance?
Yelling at drivers, whistling at girls, and those stunts!
Why?
A party flag tied up to your bike does NOT make you the owner of the road and In no sense does it let you push others off the road.
I wonder how many of these could tell us the significance of the day itself?
Raj Thackeray began his party with a promising thing! He was all up for the development or rural Maharashtra, improvement in infrastructure and better basic amenities...
What unfortunately remains is this guy who speaks more in rhetoric during his speeches and shows his devotion to the 'Marathi people' by attacking a defenceless school celebration!
As far as moral policing is concerned,
If women dressing indecently is immoral, is men beating them,in full view of the public, cursing them, perfectly moral?

We, as an irreplaceable part of this 'system' must find out how these guys got where they are today, and how do we show them the right place...

As Edward Abbey would put it, we must be true patriots, because..

'A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.'

--
Anaya

A welcome to THE co-author... (Yes, a new post finally! - version 2.0)

2009-01-26T18:23:00.010+05:30

The Lord said let there be weapons of mass-destruction and there was this blog. So let's get started right away by acknowledging the fact that this blog hasn't been attended to quite adequately. There have been some hiccups I agree. But the good news is that I am back onto it, yet again. No, no wait! it's not that bad. This time I have a co-author with me - Anaya Kulkarni. She is wicked smarty-pants from Kalyan, Mahara... Some say... she can swim in liquid glue for several days only on dudhi juice... and that she only sleeps 4.76 mins a day! But for all I know is, she is here and she is going to help me sort things out.

Why Anaya? Not because we share a similar taste in many things one of which includes writing style. At one point it was as if we were same - we both are more of less ambidextrous, love mushrooms (yes, that is important), both love to sketch (though she can sketch waaayy better!), both used to play ping-pong, our parents are in the same professions and other things which I don't remember. But what strikes the chord (and I have been trying to do that on my guitar too) is; in spite of all these similarities we are very different in many other ways. Anaya has her own unique qualities. And that is what should add colour to the previous black 'n' white outlook. (Of course I mean literally!.. Remember the previous theme was mainly black coloured... o' God!) So I started off with changing the theme, transferring the blog to my primary account and writing this welcoming post. I also plan to add more gadgets (read fun) to the page and will lose the semi-formal format of typing(?). Welcome aboard Anaya and let the work of remaking of this blog begin! Muhahaha...

Note: Credit for the sketch goes to Anaya and her friend.

Wisdom of the day: Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

--
Ashish

Feeling a BIT(S) philosophical…

2007-10-07T12:33:00.000+05:30

Ok guys, it’s a post in long, long time… and that too on a philosophical note. It has something to do with life in general. But before I start off I would like you guys to recall incidents in which you have pondered for ages trying to decide which of the two (or more) paths to choose. Not too long ago I was in a similar situation. My story starts when I was trying my level best to decide between two colleges. It was a tough call. I was choosing between two reputed institutes. One was offering me the course of my choice i.e. Computer Engineering. What I would be getting at the other one wasn’t yet certain. It looked very likely I would be offered Chemical Engineering. Now as far as I know Chemical Engineering isn’t all about chemistry but it is more about fluid/process control and thermodynamics. Now thermodynamics falls under physics which I absolutely love. But I think I have more interest in computer related fields. But again on one side it was SVNIT (NIT, Surat) with Computer Engineering while on the other it was BITS-Pilani. Real tough call for me. Should I go with my primary interest and join SVNIT or should I melt for the GRAND BITS brand and go for my secondary interest. Any physics related subject is beyond doubt my interest… but only secondary. Luckily I had parents for whom apparently this seemed crystal clear that I should pursue my primary interest only (provided I had the opportunity) and join SVNIT (but not BITS only because it likely offered me only my secondary interest). But my immature head didn’t agree and we landed for counseling at BITS. Lucky for me at BITS I got Information Systems (not to be confused with Information Technology). This course happens to interest me more compared to Computer Engineering or Computer Science since it not only is a computer related subject but also the course curriculum includes subjects like Principles of Economics and Dynamics of Social Change (which the formers don’t). But now I later realize it wasn’t the way I should have gone about it. To cut the already long story short I would like to say that never ever in your whole frigging life sacrifice your interest. More often than not we want to do something completely different but end up taking what is *hot*. Just because an average computer guy might earn more than some average cook we might set out to try becoming that computer guy. But it wouldn’t be ridiculous to talk about cooks who earn more than engineers. They who have reached the top of their business. They are able to cook beyond awesome only because they *love* what they are doing which in turn translates into them mastering their field. The filed they always loved. The field they always wanted to be in. It takes lots of courage to take a less trodden path. Where as psychology for most of us goes this way: hey I scored really excellent marks in my exams and am eligible to get X which most people die for. Although my real interest lies in Y I’ll take X because I can. This was of thinking is utterly BS. Heaviness of success fills our head and wavers our judgment. Ironically when we fail this ever heaviness is replaced by the lightness of having nothing to lose. And it is only then when we act as per our free will breaking the fetters of social pressure. (Of course provided we don’t die from the shock of failure.) Only after we have lost everything we are actually free to do what we want (Tyler Durden form Fight Club)…

One more thing that I think is harming our society is the mentality of not having goals in life. People just don’t know where they are going. Something like:

Son: Dad, what should I do in life?

Dad: Son, you should study hard and get good grades so that you get yourself into a prestigious college.

Later when Son gets good grades and is in a good college.

Son: Dad, I have got into college. Now what should I do?

Dad: Son, you should now make sure you graduate with a good GPA.

Son graduates.

Son: Dad, I have graduated. Now what should I do?

Dad: Well, find a job.

After some years of service.

Son: Dad, I a got a job and am working for quite some time now. What should I do next?

Dad: I don’t know… get married…

And so goes…

Painful!!

IMO one should not just walk and go where the road leads but instead decide a track and then run on it. Giving in your hundred percent. Umm… I hope I could do the last part… :P

Holly rat!!! I have a busy day tomorrow and I have already spent lots of time babbling here… got to leave!

On the Institute Part-I (aka Finally Another Post)

2007-09-02T10:11:00.002+05:30

On Infrastructure
The infrastructure here is no doubt beyond ordinary. There is a main institute building which has three wings, namely A, B and C. Down the B wing; which is the central part and is easily recognized by its dome; runs our central lawn while down the other two wings run hostels and one mess each side. There is another separate building which has our Library and the Computer Center (CC). Near the A-wing hostels on the side away from the central lawn are located our Students Activity Center (SAC), the medical center, the shopping complex, bank, restraunt and other things which I missed out. While on the C-wing side we also have the guest house. Staff quarters are on either sides.

PS: We love our Nescafé and Monginis.

On Campus Life
Campus life here rocks!!! In my opinion it's way better than most other institutes. Just like BITS-Pilani, Pilani Campus we have lots of clubs. Although we complain that there are fewer clubs here compared to the Pilani Campus it can undoubtedly be said there are lots already. Most evenings are spent in club meets/lectures or guest lectures. Moving onto events. Our major events are Quark and Waves. Quark is our tech fest while Waves is its cultural counter part. Although Waves was a grand success we still have to work on Quark which is relatively newer in our new campus.

And yeah, how can I forget?! I was called on stage as one of the five guys (and five girls) for Mr. Fresher (and Miss Fresher) on our DJ night.

Taking your leave, Ashish Gandhi, Mess Representative for hostel CH-5. (Yes, I won the election :D)...

60 Years On And We Are Just Warming Up!!

2007-08-15T23:51:00.000+05:30

Wishing all fellow Indians a very happy Independence Day!! Cheers to our freedom!!

Today it is 60 years since we attained independence, but the question still remains, are we free indeed? Yes, the British power has left our country but is it freedom from power that we wanted? Or did we wish for freedom from poverty, discrimination, exploitation and other bondages?

But yes, today we can undoubtedly say that India has made its mark on the world's map. Today Indians are everywhere and are excelling in their respective professions. Corporate India is also growing. The economy of our country we are told is expanding in leaps and bounds. We have come a long way from our misery but we yet have miles to go before we actually become what we dreamt of...

Hey, did some one mention dreaming?!?! I guess its my time to sleep now. Got a tutorial early morning tomorrow. Good night everyone, dream sweet!

--
Ashish

PS: I'll talk about the campus and the campus life in my next post. Sorry for the cliff hanger... :P