VACATION

First things first. I am really really sorry for not having written anything in a long time. But yes, I am back in business. A lot has happened over the last month. Our 6^th semester has ended. Yesterday was the last exam (well not exactly the last one cause there’s the Communication Lab exam on the 26^th,which I don’t think falls into the category of a regular exam). I just wished for the exams to be over. I thought I’d be happy to have a two month vacation. But here I am, day one and already bored. I arranged all the text books and notes from 6^th semester, but I lack the space to put them away.

                                        

Now I have to tell something about my University, CUSAT. Personally I think that CUSAT was established to make B.TECH equivalent to the purgatory. If it was run by a single person then I would have understood, yes of course. It’s quite natural for a person to be sadistic, heartless and inconsiderate. But what are the odds of an entire group of people being that? I don’t know, you tell me!. Yesterday I found out that I cant improve a paper from the 4^th semester because improvement can be done only at the first chance. OK fine. Then why don’t you give me back my money huh? Where is my 300 rupees?? “Oh sorry the university don’t give refunds”, they say. So there goes my chance to improve on Industrial and Power electronics.

Continuing on the atrocities of CUSAT, let us not forget the perfect timing they have in publishing our results. I think its like the apocalypse. You know that it’s somewhere around the corner but you don’t exactly know when its gonna come. It will keep you waiting and waiting and waiting and then……….BOOM!!!! Just like that it pops out after giving you a false sense of security. I still have no idea why I am writing all this. Maybe because I am bored, maybe it s because I don’t have anything else to do or maybe I just want to kill time. Why is it that CUSAT always ends the semester earlier that KERALA and MG universities? Why do I have sit at home without my friends?? Oh curse you CUSAT.

I am going to watch TAXI DRIVER (1976) and maybe I’ll go to the lighthouse in the evening…. HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!

At Kadavoor Temple

First of all,i am sorry that it took me so long to write a new post. Things are really coming down to a boil here.Assignments,records,projects and tests are all around us.Last week was the festival at Kadavoor Temple where i was invited by Dayal Ram a good friend and classmate of mine. So after my violin classes i made it there by 5:30pm. And i found Dayal after calling him 2-3 times and getting directions to the place where he was.He took me inside the temple compound where i saw three elephants which were,as you can see decorated (with stuff that i don't know the english words for,sorry!)

നെടും കുതിര 

 Moving on we went towards the field where these tall and huge structures were erected. They are called 'Horses'.The name must be given cause these structures have a stuffed horse at the centre around which all these decorations are made.There were eight of these(horses) in total. One for each of the lands adjoining the temple.Whats even more fascinating is the fact that these huge tower like things don't have wheels.Yes they are carried by people on their shoulders for the whole day.Each of the horses are kept at a spot designated for them.And people come and stand next to it,showing their support.

So we hung around for a bit more and then.By 7:30 i said goodbye and got on a bus and headed back home.Well...not really,i drank two lime sodas one after the other(Dayal drank one).And i wanted to have a third one,but on having second thoughts, i decided to take up that challenge next year.
                                       
                 

   And in other news:
1.My VLSI assignment got damaged.
2.As a result of (1) i scolded a girl,and she cried :(
3.Our series tests will be on the 14,15 and 16th
4.I am currently helping out Biju in soldering his minor project  
                                                                             

   

      Above: The entrance to the temple illuminated.
         Left: The 'Horses' viewed from afar.



         I think i'll do my next post on the soldering i am doing for Biju,whose one of my best friends.
Take care everyone..be safe.

Conjura 2012(A day out with the boys..)

Conjura is the name given to the tech fest conducted by TKM College of Engineering. But mostly one can see cultural events integrated into such events and eventually in any tech fest the technical events will be present for namesake alone. This is mainly because, it is hard work to put together a project or technical presentation, whereas how hard is it to conduct various competitions? Especially when there is prize money to be given away(and to be won)? So anyway Conjura was from the 23^rd- 26^th Feb. And I went there on the 25^th. And yes Jermy returns!

Renju our GUIDE

So I called up Jermy and Vishnu (our very dear Thankappan) and we decided that 11 AM would be a nice time to show up. And Vishnu said that he’ll bring his car. Anyways by 11:30 he shows up at my house, and the both of us go and pick up Germs (Jermy) and his brother and we made it there by 12:00 noon. The four of us went inside through the front gates and very soon met up with Renju (our buddy who studies at TKM) who will from this point onwards be the ‘GUIDE’.

He started by taking us to the various exhibits organized by many branches, namely Civil, Mechanical, Computer Science, Electronics, Chemical and Electrical. Most of the exhibits were repetitions from last year and many were ideas we’ve already seen. But I was simply baffled by the crowd present there. Of course the students of TKM make up for most of them, still it’s a really big turn up, that too on the third day of this event. Another attraction during these tech fests is the games section, where Vishnu tried his skills. He spent Rs.10 and participated in a game which had five parts. Here’s what happened >>

Vishnu in action!!

Challenge 1- Stack up the cups in a pyramid and unstack them in 1 minute

Challenge 2- Start from a marked red cup at the bottom and bring it up to the top    by replacing all the cups one by one beneath it.

Challenge 3- Keep the ball from rolling down the incline by blowing on it.

Challenge 4- simply hit 3 targets (which we can choose, more like dart game)

Challenge 5- Using a straw blow the yellow ball across all the glasses filled with water.

Though he failed in all 5 challenges, it was fun to watch and hats off to his unrelenting spirit to try again and again.

Pappadam with a potential Robot in Disguise

Around this time we headed to the canteen to get lunch, which we didn’t get. But I was able to find Harish (aka Pappadam -dude/bro from college).Then we had lunch from a hotel. It was so bad that I am not going to say more about it. Moving on, we visited the Architecture block (always keep the best for the last). Of all the exhibits presented there I could say that the ones arranged by the Architecture students were the best. What I found most interesting was their paintings and drawings.The level of detail in them are astounding and most of the drawings are implemented on paper with print like perfection. Their art gallery had some of the best photos and paintings. We walked around for a bit more and along the way we met some old friends and also made new ones. By 4 PM we decided that there’s nothing more to be seen and that its time to go home. On our way back we saw an Autobot and Mr. Jose Prakash’s office. Then it was a ride back home listening (and singing) to ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Every Breath You Take’….           

Mr. Jose Prakash
LAB IN CHARGE

An Assignment....

Hi guys,I'm back. Last time i was telling you about how i was gonna finish writing my VLSI assignment right? Well i stayed up all night that day and finished most of it. But the 4th and last question was not in our prescribed text book.And i had no other means of completing it.And only three days later,that is today,i got another reference textbook. Anyway i finished the assignment.It has like 16 pages and more than 18 diagrams.Good riddance.The finished assignment is shown alongside.Ain't she a beauty?                                                                                                                                                                                                      

       Here we have the two textbooks i used.To the left  is our prescribed text book written by Douglas A. Pucknell. Its a pretty basic text with simple explanations and concepts are introduced in an easy to understand level.Its as simple as it can get.And to my right is a text authored by Rabaey.Its like an encyclopedia on VLSI. Its highly detailed,giving thorough explanations and uses explanations which are technially one step ahead of that of our prescribed text.But an interesting thing i noted is that both the texts have almost the same content,and they are indexed in the same order too!!Thats all for today guys!Tomorrow i am planning to go for the Tech Fest conducted by TKM College of Engineering.I guess if i do go,then that'll be the topic of my next post.....Take care...

A Holiday....

 As i was busy copying out  EC-601/ DIGITAL COMMUNICATION assignment all night long(oh yeah!!),i could wake up only at 9 AM. Today is a public holiday and thus no college to attend today. So I'm Chewing on my toothbrush (cursing EC-601) when Scooby calls.He wants me to go to the Project Classes at Punthalathazham. I mumble and say that I'll make it. But I hung up the phone and went back to sleep......Sweet Dreams haha....

 ഫുട്ബോര്‍ഡില്‍ യാത്ര പാടില്ല  പോലും !!
no travelling on the foot board!

An hour later he calls again and says everyone in my group is        there except for me.Well that's bad news .So i took a  quick bath,dressed up,skipped breakfast and was on my way in,like 15 minutes.I took a private bus to the city,and switched it for another one to Punthalathazham.No travelling on the foot board they all say....But really no one cares!.Its the most unheeded piece of advice,warning or suggestion in the State.Anyway i make it to the class by 11 AM.We worked on our project for an hour and a half.Scooby had his bike with him.So when the classes were over i drove it back and on the way i got off at a Nokia Service Centre to get my phone fixed.The service work was  free and  it was finished real quick.I was back home in an hour.So i had lunch(or breakfast),took a nap and here i am writing this blog.Tonight I'm hoping to finish the assignment given for EC-603/VLSI DESIGN .I like this particular paper very much.And i shall not fail,for i have in my possession the original textbook.But still its a pity that i don't have the assignment questions.Damn!I guess I'll have to call one of the padipists( aka nerds) to get the questions!!Goodnight everyone! sweet dreams.....

GHOST RIDER 2 (Movie Review #2)

GHOST RIDER (The Spirit of Vengeance?)

Hi guys,i am back.So this is what i did today.I had violin classes but our teacher couldn't make it.And i heard from my classmate that he'd seen Jermy(my bro).And he told me that Jermy wanted to go see Ghost Rider.Yup that was the catalyst and just like that i took my phone,called him and said i'd be there for the 6:30 show.So i got back home had some tea and around 5:30 i took off.I got a bus from my nearest bus stop(ran into it) and then picked him up from the very next bus stop.

And thus we reached Kadappakada and after a minute of walking entered the DHANYA MOVIE THEATRE around 6:15 PM.The usual procedure,two balcony tickets,no refreshments and off we go.The thing about English movies being played here in Kollam(i.e my home town) is that you can choose where you want to sit.The theatre will be practically empty except for say 50-100 people.I saw a few 'old' people(ghost rider fans?,doubtful!).Anyway we chose the seats on the middle row and after the pre-show commercials the movie began.

 Jermy posing alongside a poster

OK,we have Johnny Blaze(aka GHOST RIDER) whose on the run,and he's travelled half way across the world trying to control the curse.He wanted to use this curse against the Devil Guy,but its gotten out of hand,the Rider is always hungry for souls.We are also shown a boy who is important to the plot.This kid is the crux of the movie.The Devil Guy wants the Kid for himself to do some ritual to transfer his powers to the Kid,thus making the Kid the new Devil on Earth.But nothing to worry about,we have the Ghost Rider who is always happy to burn up roads,buildings,people and vehicles(but not his jacket). Another deal is made between the rider and Moreau(an African dude who seems to have some connections with a monastery in Eastern Europe).If the Rider  can protect the boy the curse will be removed from him.There's also a new villian,who is super cool,yes he is!We also come to know more about the GHOST RIDER DEMON.It seems that even this demon had a story.So is he really the Spirit of Vengeance  or  something else?
Watch the movie!! ;)

So by 8:15 the show ended and we walked back to the bus stop.Jermy wanted to pose for a photo along with the Spirit of Vengeance.I happily obliged and the above pic is what i got

PRIMER(2004) - Hard to understand (Movie Review #1)

Since i like movies of this nature very much,i thought i'll start with this one for my blog.PRIMER is a movie which is not for those people who are of the opinion that movies should be easy.It is not one of those movies where you can just sit back,relax and go on without your full attention. Even with the subtitles its a tough nut to crack.You have to watch,hear and understand everything in order to digest the story.

I came across this story while i was googling for temporal paradoxes.I was in wikipedia and from there i found out about PRIMER.This movie has also won two awards at the 2004 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL.Here's a poster for the movie>>

With a humble budget of just $7000 this movie offers more fun and excitement than that of a $7 million blockbuster.The director of the film,Shane Carruth plays the lead role too.Full marks to him for this brilliant theme and superb execution.This is as real as time travel can ever get.

The plot of the movie can be summarized as follows: Four young engineers/scientists are working on a mechanism to reduce gravity(or weight of objects).Two of them stumble upon the accidental discovery of time travel and they hide it from the other two guys.To what purpose will they use this new discovery?Will they succumb to their various selfish needs or will they use it for the better good?Watch the movie!(I highly recommend it).

What i liked most about this movie is their concept of Time travel.It is more realistic than all the other versions we have

across so far. Shown above is a picture depicting time travel in primer.I found this from wikipedia. It is a totally new concept and far more complicated.After a certain point you just lose track of who,when and where. Here is the link to PRIMER at wiki.I would prefer not reading the plot before seeing the movie(it just spoils all the fun.)