Monday 25 December 2017

Beauty and the Beast

They say, don't put your logic in Indian Movies(esp. South Indian ones).

When you see a sci-fi or some computer haking film, everyone dreams of being the hero/villain there. Cuz they are cool and then, life happens.
But do we need reality? Or is reality really reality?
A cliche in India is to get into a Science college and then Engineering for 4 years and then lost in a fucking job or the rest of your life... THE END!

Why do i see the best art circle in an Engineering college why is the majority trying for CAT and MS? You might argue, that they have the best technical event. Well yes, but a technical event is more about the right management. A true technical enthusiast is all about the fundamentals.
When you see a wire you are amazed by the electrons flowing through it. All those 0's and 1's flowing through when you see a cricket match. That's more thrilling than Kholi hitting a century. I''m not trying to judge my peers, but i'm just sad that they didn't get the platform they wanted at the right time. Why don't we keep a 'figure out your passion year' between 12th and college? Most people don't know what they want until 2nd year in Engg. later they fire out and the few flecks that really wanted to do engg are lost in the crowd.

Image a life where discussions are about whats inside a black hole, time travel, light, from the deepest and biggest secrets of the cosmos to the smallest of the atoms. There would be discussions about coming up with new ideas for solving real-life problems, not because it would look good on your resume, but because you'd really love it, you think it's beautiful and you'd like to make a change. There will be people working for passion than for money. For learning not for grades.
See i'm not saying that such a group needs to be a majority (that's an ideal case), but at least i'd be happy to find a single person in a fucking 3000 population sharing the same passion. I single person who's not here because of the society, who just smiles when people say no-no to studying what he loves, who might make fun of being an engineer just to get in a group, but deep down they know, they belonged here. Maybe there even might be someone just like that, hiding in the rocks with the fear of being called different or simply just too busy chatting about how they could crack a sexy network with his imaginary friend.

You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.

     — J.K. Rowling
P.S.: This post meant no offence to any profession. I've seen the best writers of my life and was fortunate enough to read their rough drafts and even completed works. Everyone is perfect the way they are. A picture looks perfect with different shades. Everyone thinks differently. The engineering college environment pushes you to think what you really want. Sometimes you find your talents when you are pressured into a mismatch and that's fine. It's great to have different ideas on the table. A great community with different thought process coming together in the best phase of their lives. I'm so thrilled when i see my peers performing so good in paintings, sketches, photography, drama! I love it and i truly respect it. You guys are really talented.



PPS: Not a pro writer, so please correct/ignore if i had made any mistakes, this post was written when my mind was arguing faster than my fingers. By the way... Merry Christmas ðŸŽ…🎄
:)

Monday 27 November 2017

Atheism is a religion


Opportunity

So 1Cr it is! Congratulations sir! You are Hired. The HR held hand into a firm handshake. The smile on Dan's face was clear. As he began to leave the interview room though, it struck him.
So i agreed to work for someone else's dream for money?
Yes, you did! Red replied angrily.
Maybe, but the money is good, you can do whatever you want with it, Grey argued.
But what about your project? Does a TV selling brand's success matter more to you than your dream?
Well, that's what Sandy's doing, and she's like the best in the college? She can't be wrong. Besides everyone is so happy about the job.
.
.
Okay, do it then. Dan took the sarcasm in Red's voice as a yes. THE END
.
.
.
Alternate ending.

Okay, so want me to give it a shot? How am i supposed to explain this to everyone? I'd be a fool to reject this offer.

Okay let's say you take the offer. How would you imagine your life spanning out?

I'll work in one of the most lavish offices in the country. Free food, free WiFi and a bunch of smart people around. I can go on foreign trips and there's never a no when i see the price tag!

Does that sound good to you?
It sure does!

Well, what about when you work on your own project?

I will have to work harder. I need to search for people who share the vision and need to boss them around to work. I don't like bossing.

Go on...

I won't get my own office, just my small room with computer...But...

I'm listening.

I'll create something great... Something that makes a positive change. I'll have a reason to wake up each morning, to situp and open that black subl window knowing that what i do today might fetch a thank you form someone somewhere in the world. I'd scale and scale the project and when it's time to let go, i'd be proud of the change it made and will continue to make after i leave.

"So do you still want the job?", Red smiled.

That was a great interview sir thank you for the time but i can't take the job. Got some pending dreams to work on first :)

The defiant Nazi
The defiant Nazi


P.S.: Of course Grey was not happy with the choice he had to do all the work, more rewiring of all those worker neurons every time, but in the end, it was all worth it.
P.P.S : I personally believe that working(being mentored) by someone who's already done something similar to what you are trying to achieve is one of the best ways to go. Although you must be smart and brave enough to withdraw at the right moment.

Sunday 26 March 2017

Music theory

Although i've always relied on Google for most of my learning, some times, friend recommendations turn out to be great. I've tried many ear training apps on the playstore and also some music theory apps(honestly, the later ones were kinda boring), this app one of my friend recommended beats them all.
Hookthory (no spaces - someone forgot to take their SEO lessons) - This website/app has 2 books each around Rs.1000. The theory is designed to be taught along with the interactive tool they have on their website(you can use just the book if you want though and refer the website later).
Although you might find a pirated copy of this book if you look at the right places, i'd recommend you pay for it if you can afford it.

What you'll learn -
  • How is popular music structured.
  • Pointers to compose your own music and to recognize patterns in existing music(No kidding). You'll know what it means for a song to be in a particular key.
  • The rules that distinguish music from noise.
  • The Relative Notion in music - This really does simplifies many things.

You can check the table of contents and other details of the book here or visit the official website.

Saturday 11 March 2017

Tech yourself guitar

It's been more than a year now that i've been into music. Recently i bought a piano to compliment the guitar. Every instrument has it's own unique voice. Music (if played right) speaks emotions. While there are many classes out there who promise you good playing skill, i decided to rely on the internet. (after-all i pay 200 bucks for my monthly internet - why not get the most out of it!)
Now, if you are the bad guy, you have a ocean of pirated resources on the internet, but here i list the legal ones that helped me in my journey with music.

Piano
Guitar
Music
  • Musink (android app - site reading and ear trainer) 
There are a few official free music courses on the web like Inro to Guitar by Berklee University, 2, 3 and some pretty through YouTube playlists for music theory and piano. You can go through them if you got the time.
And lastly you'll see loads of other resource on the internet which i haven't yet checked out, just google 'music theory' if you want to taste the ocean.

CGPA

The last time I remember studying for such long stretches bookishly was my board exams. Engineering for me was not ment to be a techmax learner course. It was not supposed to be about grades, but I didn't even realize when I got myself in their race! Now that I know I'm in, I can force myself out.
But why do we have this race in the first place? Why can't we be like Finland?
  Importance to grades here seems to be due to:
1) Family pressure to perform well as compared to your peers. and/or
2) A desire to prove yourself.
Secondly, as everyone says - the education system is flawed. I don't know about the IIT's and NIT's, but being from a top(I'm still trying to figure out why do they call it so...) college form Pune University, i can say that majority of a college grad's time goes in exam based learning and assignment submissions.
On the bright side, the system will push you to learn tough things that you might think you don't need unless you actually need them and that's a good thing(or may be you wanna know them but you are too lazy to put in the effort).
But for those who came to college with a spark, I'd say keep the fire burning, find like minded people, believe in what you want and do.
A desire to learn is lost somewhere in this major crowd. But yes, we do exist. Curiosity is a wonderful gift mankind was born with and we crave for knowledge even if it's forbidden.

Wednesday 1 March 2017

Lovely Art and Tech

Check out "Duet" on Google Spotlight Stories at: https://itunes.apple.com/app/google-spotlight-stories/id974739483
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.spotlightstories



Friday 24 February 2017

What is ethical?

Most of the population agrees that lieing is wrong. But would you still maintain your stand, if I said the police lied that they would let the kidnappers escape if the hostages were left unharmed. In this case lieing is not considered bad by most of us. So who defines something as good or bad? We don't have a book to refer to. Some seek the right thing to do in holy Scriptures. Others device their own rules to fit in this world deciding for themselves. What do you think makes something good or bad?

Tuesday 21 February 2017

My 10th Grade motivation list

I regret my study methods when I was in school. They just got me grades. But maybe I found the right way at the right time. So I guess that's okay.
Regardless here's a little motivation mix I made in my 9th Grade. Motivation can do wonders if channeled in the right direction.
1) The Climb  - Miley Cyrus
2) Dream Big
3) Dream Big
4) You gotta want it from the bottom of your heart
5) I'm a champion speech.
6) Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
7) Kuch Kariye - Chak de India.
8) Aashaye.
9) Demons - Remix Magnetic North.
10) All i got
11) and more...
Maybe I'll update it tomorrow after submitting my DSFL assignments😅

Background Artists


What's your favorite song? Singer? Actor? Sure most of them have a name for each of them. But if i ask who who's your favorite Pianist? Guitarist? Architect? Stage decorator? animator? Very few of us would have answers for them. There are professions that bring you fame others that might not bring you that scale of recognition.
But think about it.
A Filmfare ceremony without the stage and lighting.
A movie without Philo and Charles(Inventors of TV).
A singer without a musician.
(A patient might thank a doctor for his diagnosis, but the graph doc used to make the diagnosis tool was implemented by an engineer ;) )
You get the idea. Let them br the Apple Engineers or the Musicians behind the Million hit songs, they live in the shade - and that's the beauty of them.
So let's set aside a moment to appreciate the background artists, they do it because they want to, they don't seek fame but we all owe them big time.

A shout-out to every one who created git, GitHub, Trello, the big IDEs and all the small code snippets that help make giant projects.

Sunday 19 February 2017

Purushottam 15 | Sarhad

PICT Art Circle, probably the best group of people at PICT, this group intrigues me every time. The dedication and talent of these amazing people deserves a salute. Sometimes they make me wonder if i'm in a technical college or arts college. From the beautiful art exhibitions by Pictoreal every year to all the trophies Art circle brings for the college, i can say to all those comments floating around the internet about PICT - Yes, the college takes it up a notch when it comes to discipline(attendance), but if you are here, and you are in the right circle, it's all worth it.

Sarhad


Wednesday 25 January 2017

Programming nuggets


If you are learning a new language with some programming base from other languages, it's always a good idea to fast-forward through the part which talks about - conditional statements, logical operators and loops. Just get a rough feel of the syntax and do a few examples. These parts mostly remain consistent across languages, so unless you have all the time in the world, it's okay to take a few leaps. 

Sunday 22 January 2017

Tried it; Liked it;

I don't say these are the best out there on the Internet (a single lifetime is not enough to surf the entire Internet... well at least not in this decade), but here is a list of computer & science resources that I found out to be quite useful:

1) Solo learn and code academy - Skip to the interesting content if you already know the basics by taking a test. Good if you are new at a language and want to get an idea how things work in that language (syntax & core features)
Courses offered: Web development, programming languages, etc.

2) Udacity -
Courses offered : 
Official - Android courses by Google.

3) EdX - 
Courses offered : 
Featured - Harvard's CS 50(taught by David J Melan - Probably the best CSE teacher out there), Linux by The Linux Foundation. (It's a long course and can get a bit boring, but it sure covers a lot!)

4) Coursera - I occasionally surf their courses, but didn't find anything appealing yet!

###Cool stuff###
YouTube: Ted-Ed, ASAPscience
Also if you have plenty of free time check out: Veritasium and Vsauce (Although their videos can get a bit lengthy, they sure are interesting!)

P.S - All the above-mentioned courses are free. The only thing you need to pay is your Internet bill.

**The list is dynamic. Tell me that websites that work for you in the comments**

Some of my notes on Notegraphy


Shreyas' Quote on Notegraphy

Shreyas' Quote on Notegraphy

Shreyas' Quote on Notegraphy

Shreyas' Quote on Notegraphy

Shreyas' Quote on Notegraphy


Shreyas' Quote on Notegraphy

I really like the idea of this app. Hope they figure out a way to effectively sort out and filter the user submitted quotes...