Crouching End Sems

So another end sem is nearing ...the 5th one and 3 more to go!!!!
This semester has been very productive for me if I look at it from the web point of view....I have become a more addicted {or whatever you may say} blogger.........I have read more blogs than my class notes/books......I have created my LinkedIn Profile and just finished creating a Technorati Profile as well.
Now I've to study for the end sems so that I can achieve my set SGPA for this semester {I would rather not disclose the target} My mini project group (Amit and Abhijit) is still clueless on our mini project idea. The problem is we have been thinking on creating something indigenous of sorts. When we met Suresh Kumar Sir we were brought downto earth. We've to come up with something very interesting at the same time not very complicated.
I'll write interesting stuff within a couple of weeks.....I would return only after my end semester
Hope not to return tomorrow and write another post with the same expectation at end!!!!!!!
EEA and IEEE SB have launched their respective websites and thats great news

Test Post

just for claiming my blog on technorati
Technorati Profile

E-waste and related problems-What I understood

I came across an article on e-waste during the summer vacation of 2006. I was interested in it but procrastinated search on the same. For the Environmental Studies we had to choose a topic for our semester project and my obvious choice was e-waste management.
While working on the project I came to know the various laws enacted by various governments regarding e-waste disposal. There is no one standard definition for e-waste. Every government/organization has developed its own definitions. However there are not many differences in these definitions.
Many of the leaders in Electronic equipment manufacturing like HP, Dell, IBM have given due importance to this issue. I also came across firms which have their business models based on e-waste disposal like ReCellular and E-Parisaraa.
I also got to know the EU directives on WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) and RoHS (restriction of hazardous substances). The problems that may arise from improper e-waste disposal are secondary to none. Thus the issue of e-waste management must be dealt with utmost priority on a global scale.
I think the best way to fight such global issues is by creating awareness among the masses.
Sooner I will upload the presentation of the project on my blog.
People interested in knowing more about the project may mail me at harshaddesai05@gmail.com

I watched a video on the new MAC OS X-Leopard....and its simply amazing. I really liked the "Time Machine" that they have developed for backup.
You might be seeing a new widget on my blog. Well I have joined LinkedIn and wanted to promote my profile.

Happy Diwali !!!!

So its my third diwali away from home......I always remember the diwali back home!!!!
Anyways when the globe is shrinking, you can have very few reasons to stay away from your family. But you can still be connected with your loved ones through internet which I feel is the best invention/discovery to happen for mankind.
Meanwhile we (Abhijit, Amit and me) have not finalised a mini project. The search is still on...got somw ideas though but have to bring it to earth. The environmental studies project is working on well. However the classes conducted where really boring it should have been more practical concentrating on the solutions rather than problems. Well I can't direct the classes.
Another end semester is closing on and once again it will be a week long night-out sessions.
I am trying to learn French through an audio lecture series and it is really very good. Hope to have some posts in French as well{a few sentences}
Have to sleep early....have to visit Temple tomorrow {9th Nov} early morning.


PS: If people do visit my blog and find something to share on any idea please feel free to do so.
I would be more than happy to get suggestions and/or critics from my readers.

....after a pause...

Its been a long time off line. There are a couple of reasons for that....We were exhausted of gprs and I had a very busy academic schedule.

Talking about the academics Power Systems 1 has been a real bore subject the only reason being the teacher. I cant understand the logic why a teacher needs to dictate some shit to 3rd years. The most funny part is people keep on scratching the shit in their books (except some like me who are too lazy). The tragedy doesn't end here.....we also have to present so called seminars and submit write-ups(of course the only difference between the 70 odd write-ups will be the font)

GOD save me!!!!!

Moving to another tragedy in Sem 5.....the electronics lab.....finished the lab xam today and every1 was a relieved soul........This sem seems to be hardest not in theory or exams but only in handling the teachers.

Anyways life moves on................other stories..

It was exciting when SENSEX touched 20k, although it couldn't sustain the high levels.

Reading some blogs about entrepreneurship a couple of business ideas have clicked in my head.

The net seems a problem --C hostel has no net connection and the gprs is very slow and costly. Even now I have to ping…... the computer is not receiving a single byte hope I am able to put the post online at 12:57 AM!!!!!!!

Posted 1 day late!!!!!!

Why have a blog? Part 2

So after a break I continue the 2nd part of why have a blog
In the part 1 I generalized the blogs around the world into 3 types .
A personal or self-advertising blog is always useful to put the blogger on the webosphere (blogosphere or whatever u like). Such blogs can be a great network building platforms{if you develop a wide reader base} and the present era thrives on networking. I had read in a blog that many recruiters insist on maintenance of active blogs. Thus maintaining a personal blog will always help you to remain in touch with people having similar interests as yours.
The next type of blog is a Corporate blog. Realizing the power of blogs many corporate maintain a blog. Such blogs discuss the prospective products of the company thus developing a pre-advertizing platform. It also helps in addressing the problems of the customers esp for software products.
Basically any blog is driven by Expressions, Interests and the Intellect. I feel my blog is expressive and some what driven by intellect because I do like Philosophy although I have not mentioned it directly in any of my posts.

The second sessionals are now over and have to get tickets for going home. The countdown has begun....

Its Time to ACT!!!!!!

I would continue my part 2 of why to blog in later posts (after my exams)
Well I got to see this Blog Action Day.....and I wanted to be a part of it. I had read about such campaigns previously , now its time to contribute.....
The topic they have chosen is Environment and well it is the greatest threat (i mean the the climate change and global warming) for humankind in the next century.
Although this topic is still debated all round the world, we have to accept the changes in Environment are not natural. The effect on environment may not be felt in short span of time. It is a complex process and slowly but certainly the pollution and other human initiated impacts on environment are affecting the mother Earth.
It is a known fact that coal is the dirtiest of the fossil fuels. And more than 50% of electricity comes from thermal power plants using coal as the primary fuel. We can reduce the CO2 emissions by efficient use of electricity.
Being an Electrical Engineering student I would suggest a 3-point Energy Saving Scheme :

1. Use CFL......don't worry about initial costs you can negate those by lower electricity bills.....a village in India was able to lower its daily load (current) demand to half by use of CFL
2. Make maximum possible use of natural light and natural cooling.
3. Use equipments rated as efficient by a proper authority like BEE in India.

People ask me why should we worry about next 100 years when none of us will be here. My answer to this is you enjoy the fruits of trees planted by your grandparents then it is your moral and social responsibility to ensure that life sustains on planet Earth.

Some data mentioned above needs to be validated. I have obtained it from numerous sources.

Finally I would say "Its not the time to think....its the time to ACT"

Why have a Blog?-Numero uno

I am trying to write my blog in parts. This is the part one and also includes something related to my life. This blog is dedicated to all wanna-be bloggers.
MY VIEWS
I think I did mention about this in my previous posts. So whats new this time around..
Well I went through many more blogs and a couple of articles in CHIP magazine.
And I figured 3 wide categories of blogs:
1. A philanthropist's blog--a blog dedicated to man kind, it includes all environmentalist, educators, advisers and the like.
2. A blog which advertizes the blogger and in which he describes his daily activities--mine is in this category!!!!!
3. A corporate blog-- blog maintained by corporate to contact with the customers and discuss their new products.
In this blog I will mention about the first kind and related topics
There are many non-profit organizations conducting various blogging events in which people contribute by way of their experiences, imagination and views. Such events promote problems faced by mankind which includes cancer, AIDS, poverty, illiteracy.
Global Warming and Climate Change will be the most challenging problem. I say this because it would effect every one- the rich and the poor, the Indains and the Chinese, literate and ill-literate. Blog Action Day(15th Oct) will be such a campaign in which people are encouraged to write about Environment. I did register to the site!!! lets see what I manage to write..Another such event was conducted by some mall in Chennai in which bloggers had to write about Cancer. It was back in 2005/6 though.....
MY LIFE: I am happy that my blog addiction (to whatever small extent) has made some of my relatives and friends to have a blog.
Meanwhile my plans of Google ad-sense are held in abeyance. Currently I am more than satisfied without the materialistic (read money) pleasures of my blog.

Relaxed......

Posting after a long time. Amit is off to IITM so I am without the Internet for 4 days. I cancelled my IITM trip at the last moment. Now I have to start preparing for the second sessionals.
I got to read an old digit magazine somewhere around Nov 2005 which had a couple of articles on blogging. One was about corporate blogs and how they are maintained. Then there was one related to blogging for the awareness of cancer which was actually a competition. I found both articles interesting. It shows how modern networking and advertising are shaping up.
Meanwhile I am confused over the use of Google AdSense......not really sure about trying it on my blog. I think I'll have to first widen my reader base to get paid off handsomely.
Thats all folks nothing more to write....

TATHVA '07

This was my third college techfest and each time it just gets bigger..!!
I could participate in 1 workshop and had paper presentation .
The workshop (MyFirm)was just what I needed......it gave me an important insight in reading the balance sheet of any company. I would thank Dr. Vinod Dumblekar(of Mantis) for conducting the workshop. The workshop was actually a simulation game in which you own a company(you are actually a team of 3-4 guys), you make decisions for your company for a quarter and then get the balance sheet of ur company at the end of the quarter. Though my company had a PAT going negative I learnt the various steps a CEO has to take to run his business successfully. The event continued for the entire day and none of us was willing to stop....however the game was only 1 day event. This would certainly help me in future
Moving on to the paper presentation. The topic we had choosen was micro CHP applications in Hospitals. The entire idea of CHP is in my mind since I have completed my Industrial Training in Ugar Sugar Works(ugarsugar.com). After the workshop I was completely exhausted and so was Gopal after his Bellagio event. But the next day we had to present our paper. We then sat down and got the presentation ready. In the morning we once again went through the slides and were almost confident. I was nervous, as usual before speaking to public but I had the material and that made me confident. The presentation went on well although there is still scope for improvement. I think the questions could have been answered in a better way by me. Anyways I was really satisfied at the end of the presentation. We managed to get the 3rd prize .
There were other events like IITB's NEXUS, iBOT, GSM 1.0 and others but I preferred to sleep in the afternoon. Now I have to work on SHAASTRA, very less time for that....

Witnessing the rare........

Finally I get to see India winning a world cup...{the 2002 Champions Trophy was shared with Sri Lanka}. So, India becomes the first nation to win all the major ICC tournaments.....sounds gr8...ODI WC in '83, World Series in '85, Champions' Trophy in '02 and the T20 world cup '07.
The final match was like a pendulum swinging from India's side to Pakistan every 5 overs or so... the match was simply delightful esp. the heart-freezing moments in the final overs. As usual the common room was fulled completely {and this time I have a pic to display that}.. India truly deserved to win the tournament only b'coz of their spirited performance and magnificent captaincy by M S Dhoni.....I thank the entire Indian Cricket Team for gifting the nation with the Cup.....My brother would be very happy on the return of Irfan Pathan.......his favourite sportsman.
TATHVA http://tathva.org is just 2 days away....It will be a gr8 4 day fest.....I have to work on my paper presentation......A short blog after a wonderful match...

Blood Donation

Yesterday{20th September '07} was an important day for me. I donated my blood for the first time. It was about 12 years back when my Mom told me that I have one of the rarest blood groups {A neg} since then I had thoughts of donating my blood some time in my life. So finally I got a chance to donate.
It was about 8:30 am when I left for the blood donation centre in the Govt. Medical College Hospital. I was very nervous in the beginning. Once we {the relative of the patient was accompanying me} reached the hospital I was asked to complete a form and then the doctor asked me about my medical history. After that my blood group was verified and I was asked to proceed to the collection centre. Feeling nervous I entered the room and was then asked to lie down on the bed. The doctor then applied pressure on my shoulder and a pipe connected with a huge needle was inserted on to one of my blood vessels in the arm. It was not as painful as expected though but I still couldn't get rid of the nervousness. For around 10 mins I literally pumped blood in to the blood bag. I cannot describe the feeling I had for those 10 mins. After the donation I was asked to keep my hand folded and sit for sometime. I was also given coffee and some biscuits so that I can retain some energy. But after 2 mins or so I felt like I am losing my consciousness. I felt so energy-less that I even couldn't call the doctor. Somehow I managed to do that. I was then asked to lay down and my legs were held vertical so that blood can accumulate in the upper part of the body. After being in that position I felt some what comfortable and I felt energy entering my body. Later the relative and I left for the college.
The entire blood donation process was a great feeling for me. Although I missed the classes--the first time I missed classes for a very good reason. However my teachers didn't feel it right to give me attendance for the reason. Anyways it was gr8 experience for me.....a real satisfying experience.
Nothing to write about today though.....It was just normal classes followed by a lecture on MATLAB by Dr. K P Mohandas.
Yeah and I am still regaining my complete body power with plenty of supplimentary foods and juices.
Meanwhile Amit{http://amit2007hi.blogspot.com } has really hooked onto blogging. He managed to find a new friend on yahoo messenger a real friend not the ones generated by computers.
It seems my posts are getting longer in content....Have to stop here... I'll try to find sm1 on Y!

GPRS Activated

Yeh finally I get to surf the net from my room{although speed is incomparable to that of E}.
What a day to blog.......it was just amazing to watch Yuvraj at his crusading best against the poor English cricketers (esp Stuart Broad). So as i publish this post I can hear people from common room shouting with joy.
The following line was taken from cricinfo.com when England required 36 in their last over
And what do you know. England need 36 in an over! It's been done before ... by Yuvi..... It is certainly the best T20 knocks I have ever watched...
With the cluster maps it was great to see people atleast opening my blog from all round the world.
Thank You every1....!!!!!

Bio-Informatics Workshop and Ganesh Chaturthi

9/16/2007, 11:58 PM
This weekend was very busy one. This Saturday being Ganesh Chaturthi, I had to do my religious duties. It started in the morning around 8 but the actual puja started only at 11 after the stage was completely decorated. Apoorva, Keval and I then completed the puja {a very quick puja}. It was then followed by aarti by director and some other faculty members.
In the evening we had a bash with dandiya night. It was great to see people playing all types of dandiya. In the end it turned from dandiya night to dj night and guess who was the DJ…………???Yeh it was my first experience of being a DJ and it was gr8!!!!!!!! I couldn’t resist some of my favorite party numbers and danced as I did in first year……. Although not as long.
The next day i.e. Sunday I had to attend the Bio-informatics workshop as organizer and as participant {for some time}. The event was conducted by IEEE SB and CSEA and was a gr8 success. I personally enjoyed it, though very little stuff entered my head. I felt interesting one of the speakers' comparison between a desktop and a neck-top.
He noted that today's computers work with 1010 transistors but the human mind works with 1040 neurons, the analogy here being made between transistors and neurons. The workshop has opened a new door for my higher studies. This field is already one of the hotspots of 21st century and more importantly for budding entrepreneurs, researchers and students it is the zenith of all present day R & D. The speakers spoke well about there respective fields and was an enlightening session for everyone present there. We were not sure about the turnout. As usual my friends missed another important workshop only due to their skeptical attitude. However we were satisfied with the response from out-station participants. There were people including students, faculty and professionals coming from all of South India.

Tomorrow 9/17/2007 will be a difficult day with tronix lab in the afternoon {esp. HR}
Hopefully everything will go orderly tomorrow and then have to enjoy in the procession for visarjana. Meanwhile I was totally impressed with the high actually super high speed internet in E-hostel. Those A&*$!#@s are enjoying single rooms with ultra high speed internet. My one wish let C get the same………………….. Seems Utopian……!!!!????

Exhausted of GPRS

I had to return back to college computer centre for updating my blog. The GPRS account on Amit's mobile is now over, we will try to renew it as soon as possible so that I can return to my previous best.
However i have been publishing an offline blog on my notebook, a gr8 MS Office tool which came along with my pc. Couldn't manage to update it here though I will do it later.
Yesterday's Visarjan Procession was gr8. This is the 1st Ganesh Utsav I am celebrating away from home. Except for the modak I feel I din't miss anything.
Have to end abruptly................

Practical Engineering

The topic which I would mention today is the emphasis on practical aspects in Engineering.

Although Indian Engineers are considered to be one of the best in the world {not only IITs but also other engineering colleges} the importance given to practical exercises is very low.
An engineer works in an extremely dynamic environment. S/He has to get acquainted with the ever changing nature of the field s/he is in. One cannot rely on antediluvian techniques in the 21st century. For this reason an engineer should have an imaginative mind. An imaginative mind will exist only if one is allowed to explore different subjects of study. A fixed syllabi hinders this exploration. I am not saying that there should not be any fixed syllabi. Only some basic fundamentals must be set fixed as a course the other part may be left dynamic which changes every 2 years or so. This way the corporate may find it easy and soft on their pockets for employee recruitment.
Same thing implies in laboratory classes. Among 10-13 experiments 5 may be fixed and all students ought to complete them and the rest may be decided by the students. Of course students should in all cases avoid plagiarism. This was suggested by my friend Gaurav Soni. This sort of academics allows the student's mind to explore around the world and not get stuck between the two dimensions of a book.
My mother always gives me advice of not being like a horse, which always looks in one direction confined by its collars or whatever it is called around the head.
I personally feel an engineering course should be as dynamic as possible. Students should be encouraged to work on practical aspects of their course. There must be a strong interaction between the industry and the academic institutes as both are of equal importance in progress of any country.

I know many would disagree with my ideas but as a student these were my views of making the syllabi more interesting so that students enjoy each and every day of their graduation period.

Funky blog-- followed by bad luck

Yeah my blog would look more "funky" with the two new things I have added.
But I messed with my today's blog. I wrote a very long blog and then clicked on publish post only to realize I had previously logged off and have to log in again w/o my post. Real Hard Luck.... And guess what? I watched a movie "My Luck" today afternoon. So the movie might be having an effect on me......

Any ways I cant write the entire thing again as I am feeling sleepy.
But I will mention some things I remember
I started of with the importance of blogging in employee recruitment---about which I had read in http://thoughtsprevail.blogspot.com/ blog by Mr. Himanshu Seth.

I then quoted an interview of Mr. Steve Jobs in which he stressed the importance of living the present. I can actually copy+paste the part of his interview here:


Steve Jobs in an interview:
"And, you know, one of the things I did when I got back to Apple 10 years ago was I gave the museum to Stanford and all the papers and all the old machines and kind of cleared out the cobwebs and said, let's stop looking backwards here. It's all about what happens tomorrow. Because you can't look back and say, well, gosh, you know, I wish I hadn't have gotten fired, I wish I was there, I wish this, I wish that. It doesn't matter. And so let's go invent tomorrow rather than worrying about what happened yesterday."

I then talked about the last encounter between India and England. The atmosphere in our common room after the match was just inexpressible,every single guy dancing {especially after the exam the success seemed super sweeter}

Thats all and wish All the Best for Team India in the final encounter tomorrow.

Finished with 1st paper

Yaa I know I mentioned that this is not going to be my web diary rather it would be a collection of my ideas- melange as my friend Abhijit has named his blog.
But I cant keep stopping writing about my college life. Yesterday it was difficult to study with India almost winning the match. So close yet so far. We were studying with more than half of our mind wandering in common room {the place where we watch cricket and other matcehs, basically our TV room} A cheer from there and we were all running for the latest score.
But just badluck for Indians. Now we must win all the remaining matches to ensure a series win.
Have to study for the remaining subjects.
Bye the way the polling for the last week is over.....I had a single vote from me........ Poll results
My blog is interesting: votes 100%; no. of votes !



My orkut home page gave me this fortune, don't know how much is true........
Today's fortune: The star of riches is shining upon you

Conversion from Web Diary to MY IdEaS

I think I have been maintaining my blog as my web diary {if you may call it so}. Well after going through different blogs I am more inclined towards writing about something different........something other than the college stuff..
Frankly speaking this is not at all time for writing about abstract ideas....... Only 1 day left for my midsems... I hope to start writing it in my future blogs.
It was great to see someone posting a comment on my blog....I never expected that.
This is my first experience with uploading photo on my blog. My friend Kiran's comment on this photo "R U alright ?U look as if U R Cing the End of the Universe. " And my reply was IPCC(Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change)
has reported just 8 more years... So Stop Global Warming!!!!!
Anyways this photo was taken during my summer trip to North India and the river in the picture is the Holy Beas.
Well as I mentioned above I am changing my blog topics it would be great to start off with Global Warming as it is the need of the hour to stop this global phenomenon.
My suggestions to people reading this blog are:

• Minimize the amount of electricity you consume. Avoid usage of heavy electrical appliances during peak hours. Use CFLs as far as possible{don't worry about the initial cost. the initial cost covers your electricity bill}
• Use public transport, I know this may be difficult with present mass transport system in India.....but do try to use it.
• Support NGOs and Research Institutes which are keen on stopping this erratic climate change.
• Industries can put off their AC and other electrical gadgets for at least an hour in a week.
• Make the masses aware about global warming and its effects.
• Maintain your vehicles and electrical appliances.

I know it is sounding very theoretical but remember

ITs TIME TO ACT AND NOT THINK

This was my first direct attempt to write something other than college life.

Hope to continue with fresh ideas next time...

Another Sunday gone.............

It's 2 days of rest. Very little study of DSD{still going on....}
Finally, Gaurav Soni succeeded in conducting the first of our planned forums. I had hardly planned for the forum but his excitement couldn't resist me from entering the discussion{although there was very little discussion, most of the talking done by GS}. It was a gr8 idea but not a gr8 start. Hopefully we will make it more interesting in the coming weeks.........
Congratulations to Amit for his new blog!!!!!!!!!!!
Still updating my PC with various softwares after yesterdays formatting. Now it has got the Google Desktop Search and its Sidebar. I would thank Google a lot, for providing so many things.
Gmail, Orkut, Blogger, Google Earth, Gtalk and the list gors on and on........ Thanks Once again guys.................
ASTALAVISTA