By now, I'm sure, any regular reader's of my blog should have no doubt that I'm on a vacation with absolutely nothing to do. With such a vacation on hand, there's just a few things one can spend time on. Blogging, trying to clear those thousand unread mails in your inbox, watch one boring TV soap after another (or should I say, commercials who take up almost half of showtime) etc. are all that most of us get to. Some of the more adventurous folk might contradict me, but I'll stick by my words.
I'm sure I've all girls seething out there, how could I miss that most ubiquitous activity in any girl's life, and today even in the life of a retro guy like me, Shopping! Undoubtedly, you all should know, 'shopping' strictly means trying and maybe also buying clothes! It seems we all need to go shopping whether we need any new stuff or not, caring a damn about anything else. And I'm sure there is no ambiguity about the venue, your friendly neighborhood MALL!
I've always wondered every time I've visited a mall, why are we here? What joy do we get bustling through the crowds, trying on the clothes without second thought to the countless nameless and faceless people who may have tried them on before? I wonder why I'm the only one intimidated by the variety: zillion brands, with their equally numerous styles and mass-designed and mass-produced clothing lines. Not to mention that the prices invariably are too outrageous to my miserly senses. And then you have discounts and offers! The greatest gimmick of all time, an equivalent of the Holy Grail for the shopper. Or rather for the sellers?
Gone are the days when you would go to a shop, ask a salesman to show you shirts in this budget, made of that material. These things are of no concern today. All that matters is whether the clothes follow the current trends! So, slowly, the shops have changed. From keeping all their ware packed in boxes, opening them as you asked for more, to having the entire stock at your disposal. You now have the freedom to decide your style, its no longer limited to the suggestions of the shopkeeper. You choose, you are the boss. And that is what comes at a price!
Coming to the matter of quality, there's hardly any noteworthy change. Often, mall-bought goods leave you with the nagging thought, is my purchase really worth the price? Clothes today hardly last one season of use, maybe more if you really take good care. What's the point in clothes lasting that long anyway? After all, the styles would be outdated by the next season, right? In any case, as long as everyone sees that Levi's tag, who cares!
Looks like I'll have to stop being the cynic for fear of facing the wrath of the ladies in my life! I agree, it does feel awesome to see such great looking clothes, hung out just for you, if you can afford them. It definitely feels even better to roam the endless air-conditioned interiors, safe from the elements, taking in the sights and sounds of happy people doing what they love most! All said and done, I'll still say one thing when I'm bored and want to hang out with my friends: What are we waiting for? Lets hit the mall! Thank god the new one's so close!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
On engineering and beyond...
Well, I know, I'm sorry to have offended all the real bloggers by being absent again! But I can't really help it. Its not too often that I visit the Net, and even then its mostly for a quick check for movies, or my poker status...oops, shouldn't have let that out here!
But with the dreary long four-years of my engineering finally at an end, I knew I had to pay my regards to my blog soon. With a fortnight of my vacations already gone by in a blaze, I now have time to relax and breathe and enjoy the leisure only a blog can offer! As always, I seem to have no specific thoughts in my mind. Yeah yeah, its true, what can I do! My mind keeps toying with my yet-non-existent-but-soon-to-be bank balance, my new life as an earning member of the community, my plans for what right now feels like a long and uncertain, maybe a tad bit scary, journey into life's new roads that have opened up...
I casually look back on these bygone years and its a strange realization I have. The four years of my graduation were supposed to be a marathon of studying, at the end of which lay such a glorious wealth of knowledge! Well, I did reach a treasure, albeit of a very unexpected kind.
Nowhere to be seen are the gallons of flowing programming ideas. Also missing are the countless threads of thoughts which would see me sail through any technical challenges thrown at me. Instead the picture is now muddier, even obscured completely in places. It turns out that I'm nowhere ahead in my technical knowledge. (I was always a little ahead there, to be true, maybe that's why I feel like having learnt nothing new) But so many new concepts have been introduced to me, and not very well at that, that I find I barely know my field anymore! Is there a problem here?
This state of affairs is definitely not good for me, I think. But when I look around, I see that surprisingly, I still fit in well! This is exactly the case with almost everyone at my level! Maybe Engineering is supposed to end like this, the way a natural disaster occurs in a flash, but leaves behind a wreckage to be sorted. People learn from their worst troubles, right!
But with the dreary long four-years of my engineering finally at an end, I knew I had to pay my regards to my blog soon. With a fortnight of my vacations already gone by in a blaze, I now have time to relax and breathe and enjoy the leisure only a blog can offer! As always, I seem to have no specific thoughts in my mind. Yeah yeah, its true, what can I do! My mind keeps toying with my yet-non-existent-but-soon-to-be bank balance, my new life as an earning member of the community, my plans for what right now feels like a long and uncertain, maybe a tad bit scary, journey into life's new roads that have opened up...
I casually look back on these bygone years and its a strange realization I have. The four years of my graduation were supposed to be a marathon of studying, at the end of which lay such a glorious wealth of knowledge! Well, I did reach a treasure, albeit of a very unexpected kind.
Nowhere to be seen are the gallons of flowing programming ideas. Also missing are the countless threads of thoughts which would see me sail through any technical challenges thrown at me. Instead the picture is now muddier, even obscured completely in places. It turns out that I'm nowhere ahead in my technical knowledge. (I was always a little ahead there, to be true, maybe that's why I feel like having learnt nothing new) But so many new concepts have been introduced to me, and not very well at that, that I find I barely know my field anymore! Is there a problem here?
This state of affairs is definitely not good for me, I think. But when I look around, I see that surprisingly, I still fit in well! This is exactly the case with almost everyone at my level! Maybe Engineering is supposed to end like this, the way a natural disaster occurs in a flash, but leaves behind a wreckage to be sorted. People learn from their worst troubles, right!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
New blog!
Well, I love blogging...
Fine, I agree I'm not exactly a true blogger, in the sense of being too irregular, but I do it right! And I'm so hooked to this that I've just opened a new blog. Its called Anurag's Techno Sanctorum, and you can find it here or at http://anuragtech.blogspot.com. Either ways, you are welcome to take a look and drop any comments or queries. I'll try to answer as many as I can, but no guarantees!
Fine, I agree I'm not exactly a true blogger, in the sense of being too irregular, but I do it right! And I'm so hooked to this that I've just opened a new blog. Its called Anurag's Techno Sanctorum, and you can find it here or at http://anuragtech.blogspot.com. Either ways, you are welcome to take a look and drop any comments or queries. I'll try to answer as many as I can, but no guarantees!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Already late!
Hehe..its really funny! Just a month back I promise to keep this place updated regularly, and now its already lagging behind!
I like to blame the New Year for such delays. This whole 'holiday season' concept just ensures you can get no work done. We forget everything, go out party one night, then plan resolutions which, at the back of our minds, we already doubt. And then 99% of the time actually fail on them within a week! Still, all said and done, even a cynic like me does the New Year drill!
This new year, though, already held promise as the dampest squib ever. Our end-semester exams were on through the holiday season. That meant a dearth of parties, and an even greater dearth of time to plan a good one. I ended up having fun, if not exactly in the way I'd expected.
The exams finished, leaving us a measly one week of a real vacation. A fun-filled Industrial Visit, followed by a series of days filled with unexpected twists in my life, have now left me panting with the vacation effort. I'll let the details stay with me, but i'll let out this much: the new experiences were in no way unpleasant, in fact they were far far removed from 'unpleasant'. I've found a best friend. And a new person in my life, who came suddenly like a cool whiff of air on a hot day, and who shows promise of making my days shine and nights sparkle with emotions never experienced before with such intensity!
So here I am, after another of these lovely days, updating my blog, for no one to really read! But, it just feels good to have the Web, to at least store my thoughts until some poor soul discovers them and decides to read this insanity!
I like to blame the New Year for such delays. This whole 'holiday season' concept just ensures you can get no work done. We forget everything, go out party one night, then plan resolutions which, at the back of our minds, we already doubt. And then 99% of the time actually fail on them within a week! Still, all said and done, even a cynic like me does the New Year drill!
This new year, though, already held promise as the dampest squib ever. Our end-semester exams were on through the holiday season. That meant a dearth of parties, and an even greater dearth of time to plan a good one. I ended up having fun, if not exactly in the way I'd expected.
The exams finished, leaving us a measly one week of a real vacation. A fun-filled Industrial Visit, followed by a series of days filled with unexpected twists in my life, have now left me panting with the vacation effort. I'll let the details stay with me, but i'll let out this much: the new experiences were in no way unpleasant, in fact they were far far removed from 'unpleasant'. I've found a best friend. And a new person in my life, who came suddenly like a cool whiff of air on a hot day, and who shows promise of making my days shine and nights sparkle with emotions never experienced before with such intensity!
So here I am, after another of these lovely days, updating my blog, for no one to really read! But, it just feels good to have the Web, to at least store my thoughts until some poor soul discovers them and decides to read this insanity!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Random Musings about engineering syllabi
Anyone who keeps his senses moderately to himself, and of course uses them, can easily come across more information than he or she may ever desire, such is today's world. But add to this basic assumption of presence and use of senses, a desire to try and digest (or at least store for future assessment) all that one comes across, and there you have a really useful individual!
But this individual is not all that useful as may seem at first glance. After all, of what use is a database, if there were no tools for analysing its data! Such is the case with our currently obtained individual. The word 'digest' here can be easily misunderstood to meaning a gain of knowledge. But no, digestion is merely the act of converting food (or information in our case) into a form potentially usable by us. It is the process of 'assimilation' that truly enables us to absorb the actual nutrients (in this case, knowledge).
Thus, the point I'm trying to make is that it is not enough to digest, one must assimilate!
Alas, it seems as though the greats of several Indian universities are totally missing this very important point.
I'm talking specifically about the typical syllabi for 'Engineering' streams. I am not being selfish here, I just don't have enough experience with other fields to be in a position to blog about them.
These people who I guess are responsible for setting the standard for education, have long forgotten, it seems, why the education is being imparted. The goal of education is not to create a digestor, but an assimilator, or even better, a creator.
However, today's engineering syllabi are merely churning out second-handers (I love how perfect that word is, first used in such a context by Ayn Rand) who can make no creative contribution to this world, but can perfectly consume and digest the luxuries offered to us by the work of creators!
But this individual is not all that useful as may seem at first glance. After all, of what use is a database, if there were no tools for analysing its data! Such is the case with our currently obtained individual. The word 'digest' here can be easily misunderstood to meaning a gain of knowledge. But no, digestion is merely the act of converting food (or information in our case) into a form potentially usable by us. It is the process of 'assimilation' that truly enables us to absorb the actual nutrients (in this case, knowledge).
Thus, the point I'm trying to make is that it is not enough to digest, one must assimilate!
Alas, it seems as though the greats of several Indian universities are totally missing this very important point.
I'm talking specifically about the typical syllabi for 'Engineering' streams. I am not being selfish here, I just don't have enough experience with other fields to be in a position to blog about them.
These people who I guess are responsible for setting the standard for education, have long forgotten, it seems, why the education is being imparted. The goal of education is not to create a digestor, but an assimilator, or even better, a creator.
However, today's engineering syllabi are merely churning out second-handers (I love how perfect that word is, first used in such a context by Ayn Rand) who can make no creative contribution to this world, but can perfectly consume and digest the luxuries offered to us by the work of creators!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
At last, here's my first!
Well, I really don't know what a blog is. I've seen many of my friends' blogs, most of them seem pretty interesting. Interestingly, an equal number are either plain dumb and boring, or seem to lack steam to go on. I guess up until now, I myself would be in the second category. But it seems a pretty interesting thing to do, and so without further ado, I'm raising the sails! Bon voyage to me!
Today, the idea of maintaining some sort of a record for my stray thoughts, findings, broodings, maybe even dreams and fantasies, suddenly struck me as something worthwhile. I'm not too sure why. I think it came in one of my innumerable thought-surfing sessions. And yes, since the day before yesterday, when in the wee hours of the morning, i received the sad news of my maternal grandpa's passing on to that realm beyond life, I have been doing quite a bit of thinking. Not really mournful thoughts, but just a little bit deep.
How that turned into a wish to blog is something i'll probably blog about soon, when I get to understand for myself what blogs really are! By the way, I think this does for a fine start, so I won't put in the fact that my BE Sem VII exams started today in not exactly a great manner. And I sincerely hope that I shall continue blogging, now that the hard part of starting is done! Until next time, then!
Today, the idea of maintaining some sort of a record for my stray thoughts, findings, broodings, maybe even dreams and fantasies, suddenly struck me as something worthwhile. I'm not too sure why. I think it came in one of my innumerable thought-surfing sessions. And yes, since the day before yesterday, when in the wee hours of the morning, i received the sad news of my maternal grandpa's passing on to that realm beyond life, I have been doing quite a bit of thinking. Not really mournful thoughts, but just a little bit deep.
How that turned into a wish to blog is something i'll probably blog about soon, when I get to understand for myself what blogs really are! By the way, I think this does for a fine start, so I won't put in the fact that my BE Sem VII exams started today in not exactly a great manner. And I sincerely hope that I shall continue blogging, now that the hard part of starting is done! Until next time, then!
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