Project Status Update

This should have been blogged sometime back, but I dint get the time to do so. Anyway after the incidences (Yet Another Loss) I was still forcing them to change their mind from V.S.S.C, obviously they dint have a guarantee that my idea for the project will work out.

After a couple of visits to V.S.S.C I got the picture of the project. Basically it was just getting various flight parameters from a live / simulated rocket launch and then plot it in a graph in real time. They did already have a software for that but the problem was that they dint have one for Linux. All the software they had were basically “Windows / DOS” oriented and since there was a general shift to Linux, they were also porting existing softwares to do the same job in Linux. Our guide and assistant guide were ladies. The guide usually didn’t get enough time to guide us in the project; she was just conveying ideas to us about the project. The actual project’s technical details were given to us by the assistant who was working on similar things in Linux. We had to develop a GUI front-end which was user friendly and do all the various stuff that the guide asked us to do. Now the problem was that we didn’t have sufficient information or good tutorials on QT so that we could study it in a short time and do it. Finally doing parts project of QT also fell of my shoulders eventually and I got tired of it, as I was also in a design phase of my own project on virtual machines. More over my interests in doing project lied in the core of “Computer Science” in “Systems Programming” and doing the V.S.S.C project is the last thing I wanted to do on earth.

My project team had double standards in choosing the project and was consoling me that we could do both projects and then later on submit the “Virtual Machine”. Yeah! Right those kinds of things never happen. So finally I gave my group enough proof that the “Virtual Machine” project could be done and be completed in given time and I could no longer proceed with V.S.S.C and we had to abandon. Anyways whatever decision they took I was deciding to do the “Virtual Machine” Project. So finally they decided to drop it and the guy who started it all finally went to the guide and ended the deal with V.S.S.C

After that I was rid of the excess tensions of V.S.S.C and could dedicate myself to the maximum for the “Virtual Machine” Project. Even though I had big ambitions to emulate an actual x86 based machine architecture, I realized the job isn’t very easy with me doing the majority of the project work alone. So finally I had to redesign the project to emulate a much smaller and simpler theoretical machine called “Simplified Instructional Computer” or “SIC” for short and the project was named SICvm (SIC Virtual Machine).

It hurts for me to say that I had to do almost all the coding for the project except for some assembly parts and the parts of the emulator. Most of the time their suggestions whenever I faced difficulty was to some how circumvent it by use of means that violated how the emulator is supposed to work. Harisankar was the most helpful of the lot. Though he dint do a lot of coding he used to help me by giving suggestions whenever I came across obstacles in the project. These suggestions helped me to reconsider some of the design approaches and helped me to better the project. But if they all had put at least half the effort I had put in for the project we would have made a real great project.

My team also had conflicts in preparing the report for the final project. They said that that they wanted a bigger list of bibliography materials to satisfy the guide. But I said we should stick to only the books that we referred in actual and should not simply fill up the page. Even though they wanted to put more I was strongly against it and we had a heated quarrel about it finally they had to go my way. It paid off when our guide who went through the softcopy of the report said that whenever you write bibliography you must site its references in the actual report also. I usually don’t praise my teachers but I must say that our guide was very helpful in the report making part and suggested a lot of changes in order to make the report very presentable.

Finally with the project we made we were able to present it to the TCS Competition but dint win any prize. We also presented the project at Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC). The day we presented it was a “Hartal” due to which the participation for the event consisted only of two teams in total. Even though the competition was not strong we did win the event (Conducted as a part of National Technology Day). But let me tell you the fact that if we had gone ahead with the V.S.S.C project we couldn’t even present it for an event like this. I am happy with the fact that I got to present my project. And of course the prize money was shared equally with all my team members, How Ironic!!!

Airport Blues

Three years, that’s the time that I have been away from Kuwait doing my Engineering in Kerela. How much I dearly miss my beloved birth place. I finally got the chance (probably the last?) to visit Kuwait where my mother works after the final exams.

It’s been almost a month since the last exams of B.Tech and after spending a lot of time with my friends since most are going to Infosys I may not get to see them afterwards. The date finally arrived on with I was on my way to Kuwait. The flight was schedule to depart at 11^th July 2006, 5.30 A.M IST and I had to report at the Airport by 3.30 A.M IST. I just spent the previous night partying with my friends on the occasion of Frantic’s Birthday but it was more of a farewell party for me with them as I would not get a chance to see most them after my return from Kuwait. Anyway I was a bit tired in the morning, after a short good bye to my father I entered the airport and was on my way to the luggage check in counter. This is when I met with a middle aged man who claimed he kind of lost his spectacles and he wanted me to help him fill up a form. I said “O.K” he was on his way to US and was a transit passenger on board Kuwait Airways going to US via Kuwait. After the filling up I proceeded to the Check In counter and it was a short queue and checked in my baggage now only left with a shoulder bad. I took my boarding pass from the counter and proceeded to fill up the disembarkation slip.

Then the Immigration / Customs Check counter opened up and the queue was pretty long and I was at the end of it. Here again the person who asked me to fill up form met with me asking some doubts on filling up the disembarkation form. I also met another person who was much younger and he was on his way to Saudi Arabia. Finally my turn arrived at the counter and I stepped forward. The officer sitting at the desk asked me why I was going there and stuff like that and finally he said that the information in the ticket showing that my visa was due on arrival at Kuwait had the wrong passport number. I was pretty confused and he said that I had to get a fax from the Kuwait Airways office that confirmed that the passport number should have matched mine and redirected me to the luggage counter. There I met an officer who was pretty handsome looking and a good English accent. I explained my problem and he agreed to look at it. The only concern in my mind was that how was he to contact the Kuwait Airways Office in the early morning to get a confirmation fax. After running around here and there he asked me who was bringing the visa I said it was mother, he thought for a bit and he just stuck off the wrong passport number with a pen and wrote down mine and then he put in a signature there. He said to me it was a probably a typo that occurred during the booking time. It was back to the Immigration Check and the guy was a little unsatisfied since he dint see a second fax but he had to let me go through since the Kuwait Airways officer signed it. These are hard times especially with these terrorist attacks going on you can’t trust anyone.

The next was the Baggage Identification and the Security Check which went pretty smoothly without any hassles in-between which I called up my father to tell about the incidences that took place, he assured me everything from now on was going to be O.K. Finally by 5.45 the boarding gates opened and after a short bus trip from the terminal to the plane, I boarded the flight by 6.00 A.M and took my seat. The journey was pretty much uneventful; I was sitting the middle seat in the second last row and one of my neighbors was the man who was going to Saudi Arabia. We did talk a little about his work there and he was telling how life was hard in Saudi Arabia especially with the lack of freedom compared to Kuwait.

In the end after a 4.30 Hr journey I finally saw the land of Kuwait from air as the plane was on a landing course. I could see it was dusty. It was middle of a Kuwaiti Summer and Dust winds were common in these areas. After the plane had landed I noted that instead of having a walkway to the airport arrival which is the usual method for the 1^st time in over 10 years I saw them providing a bus service from the plane to the arrival gates. As I stepped down the stairs from the plane’s door the dry dusty hot Kuwaiti winds swept through my face and hands and it brought me the joy of the good old days when I used to be in Kuwait.

The processing in the Kuwaiti Airports was a lot faster and everything finished in about 20 minutes and I was on my way out of the airport with my luggage. And on the walkway to the airport exit, I was searching for my mother on either side of the railings to my surprise I couldn’t find her and I reached the end of the walkway and was nearing the exit door. I stood there and looked around, thinking did I miss her then I saw her coming towards me with her friend and I hugged her, she was very happy to see me. Especially with my sister who returned to Trivandrum recently my mother was feeling pretty lonely and this was a moment of happiness for her.

We all got in the car and were on our way to Ahmadi where my mom was staying. It is also the place where I stayed for 3 years some of most memorable years in Kuwait I have spent in Ahmadi. Hoping to update soon with photos on my visit to Kuwait

H.O.D - A Complete Case Analysis

After writing the previous entry on H.O.D which was more of a lopsided especially because it included only my point of view, I decided to write this post on a recent conversation I had with the H.O.D that does the complete case analysis (at least this is what I feel, is the complete picture).

It was Friday May 19^th 2006, and I had to go to college to clear my dues. It was said to us on the previous day that if we don’t clear the dues on the department (this included returning the laptop, returning the library books and paying a sum of Rs. 200 for the department) on 19^th we were not going to sit for the lab exams that were starting on 22^nd and with a postponed exam that was due on 20^th it was really a messy day. More over I also had to get my project report and lab records signed.

My father took me to the college and we reached there at around 9.30. I said everything ought to be finished by 10.30. I dropped off the bundle of books near the closed department library and went off to the department to clear up the other dues.

First up was to clear up and laptop dues. I had to take the beloved laptop provided by the department and sign it in for good. I am pretty sure I am going to miss that black beauty. It’s helped me a lot in my project, blogging, writing reports etc hopefully I will buy one soon. Anyway after getting a clearance from my project adviser, I returned the laptop to the department. After this I had to wait for the librarian to come to open up the department library. It was during this wait I actually met up with the H.O.D and went in her room to get a sign in my final project report.

What was supposed to be a simple signing process turned out to be a 2 hour ordeal! The following is a reduced transcript of the conversation that took place between her and me.

Time of entry 10.30 A.M

H.O.D: So did u clear the dues?

Me: Yes madam, I cleared the Laptop and I am about the clear library dues.

H.O.D: And what about submitting Rs. 200?

Me: But Madam, I dint know that tell yesterday, I don’t have the money with me now

H.O.D (now angry): How come you dint know? I have been saying it to you people for months now.

Me: But I dint see any official notice

H.O.D: Actually you people are supposed to do this donation by yourself and not by me hinting you? Why is that any of you taking interest in this?

Me: But don’t you think an object, like a piece of furniture would be more expressive

H.O.D: Are you saying this as your own idea? The people working above you in this department are more intelligent than you and they haven’t thought of such a thing?

Me (Thinking):Yeah right the people are definitely smarter that’s why we have one the world’s worst syllabus any child who knows how to read and write downright knows that our syllabus is the worst of its kind.

Me: But it was just a suggestion that’s all.

H.O.D: Yes you are trying to be over smart and take credits.

Analysis: H.O.D Over assumes things, trying to blame overlooking the very fact that what I gave was just a mere suggestion and not an act of out smarting her.

Me: No madam nothing of that sort, I think most people are hurt by the fact that our proceedings for the “DotSlash” Technical Festival were interrupted and it could not be conducted. So I think that is why most people are hesitating.

H.O.D (now irritated and angry): You think only you people have feelings! Did u know the situation that was in the college at the time? There were clashes between the students of the college and it was in a state of unrest. (Refer my post “Requiem for a College”)

Me: Yes Madam, but we had proceeded to a point of no return and I think it was a big blow to the morale of our class when the whole thing was cancelled.

H.O.D: You people think like that because you don’t have feelings of a human being. If you were a human being that you wouldn’t have said this. Do you think that you will celebrate an event when there is a death in your house?

Me: In making every decision we are faced by oppositions. We have to over come the opposition if we want to make any progress.

H.O.D (now furious): This is what I said you people have no feelings for fellow human beings. And dint you know all the events that were to be conducted was cancelled in that month

Analysis: Many of might regard my statement pretty ruthless, but in fact think practical if we were to face a choice that are mutually exclusive then we have to let go of one so that the one with the greater good is chosen. In this situation we had a temporary peace prevailing in the college which was suited for the conducting of the events, but was seen as a threat situation and the H.O.D could not take up the responsibility of conducting the events

Me: But I think the principal did give his permission to conduct the “DotSlash” event

H.O.D: Do you know what kind of permission did he give? He just said verbally that you can conduct the event there was no written approval and without that I cannot act. So even I couldn’t approve of it. And it’s the department’s responsibility of any accidents that will take place during the event. With the less number of staff we got we don’t have the strength to conduct the event.

Me: But the “DotSlash” committee didn’t inform me of such details.

H.O.D: More over I also have taken decisions against a lot of resistances, for example the idea for giving Laptops for the project groups this year was met with a lot of resistances from other departments but I had to overcome that to give out laptops to all of you for doing your projects

Me: Yes giving out the Laptops was one the best decisions ever taken

Analysis: This is kind of a fuzzy zone for me to analyze. Don’t take me the other way but H.O.D wasn’t ready to take up the responsibility of an even that was to be conducted by her department, more over the fact that the principal had not given written permission helped her to push back the blame on the principal. As I see, it was a natural reaction to such events as seen in government bureaucracy. She was also trying to push the fact of the laptops as a “revolutionary” decision. But let it me tell you that it was a part of the TEQUIP plan more over I don’t see how other departments could object the decision taken by our H.O.D after all it was not their departmental affairs after all she had the complete authority on our department.

H.O.D (Coming back to the original subject): In this way any money you give will only be used for the good of the department and hence you should not question the integrity of the department.

Me: But I just wanted to know why we were spending another Rs 200?

(Enter 2 more characters into this drama first was swami and the other was our staff advisor S.A)

H.O.D: This is what I said about you people having no respect for you teachers (no guruthvam). It is traditional to believe in the level of respect for the people in the following order Mother, Father, Teacher and God (Matha, Pitha, Guru, Daivam) i.e a teacher’s respect is closer to respecting a God.

Me: But madam I dint mean to offend you in anyway

H.O.D: It was even brought to my attention that there were websites and pages with obscene comments about me and the former principal (our previous H.O.D) made by some of the seniors. Especially the ones that were 2 years senior to you. They even have written explicit comments were written about the various teachers.

S.A: The other day I was shown a print out about an obscene post about the staff of this college in Yahoo! Groups. We could have taken action against those people but then we dint do it.

(Right if they could, the people responsible would have downright denied it.)

Me: Madam I think the most obvious reasons for such a behavior is that the students is

1) The degradation in the quality of education offered in the college

2) The degradation of the teacher student relationship

Most of these allegations have not been made on Nizar or Mohan because I think they had a better teaching skill and better teacher student relationship.

(Now she had one hell of a reaction to these statements, first time she was taking some sense)

H.O.D: You must understand the fact that in this government institution we do not have enough teachers for the corresponding amount of students and hence we experience lack of staff and we can only post guest lectures from the local interviews that we conduct. Then again those people who come do not have good academic profiles and we can only choose from the best of them. Actually some of the best of the staff of this college actually went to other colleges on deputations and promotions. I am trying hard to keep the better of the teaching staff in the college.

Me: Yes madam I can understand that

H.O.D: Actually we do provide better quality of teaching than most of the private colleges and even some of the private school. After all you people say that private institutions are better. I have seen even teachers in these private schools teach wrong things to students.

Me: I have to strongly disagree with that madam, I studied in Arya Central School a private school and let me tell you I had experienced one of the best teaching staff in that school. So please don’t put the blame on private schools.

(She was pretty stunned by that)

Swami: Yes I have to agree with him. Even in my school Loyola our teaching was really good.

Me: But I think the more important factor is the teacher student relationship. It has considerably degraded from the school to the colleges.

H.O.D: The fact is you people no longer respect your teachers because you got into college and you feel that gives you a right to do anything you want.

Me: But we haven’t experienced the kind of teacher student relationship as we experienced in school where we had a closer bond with the teachers

S.A: Actually the relationship also should come from your side. For example once in the lab I saw a student who dint bother to move so that one of staff could take his slipper from under the table. I don’t remember the student’s name but yes it was roll number 54

(How ironic the fact that she explains the student’s non cooperation reflects also her attitude towards remember students as numbers and not names, this I assure you will not happen in an private institution)

H.O.D: You see my department is like my child and you are like my children and you should respect the department and treat it like your grandmother. And when your father or mother asks to give money as a token of gratitude you don’t question them do you just like that you should not question the department when it asks you to donate the money do u understand?

Me: But at least we have a right to know what is happening to our department.

H.O.D: The word “right” is so lowly and is only used by union and labours and you should not use it.

Me: With all due respect I dint mean it in that way, you just said we are a family and don’t you think that the family members have a right to know the things happening in the family.

(H.O.D was a bit dump struck)

H.O.D: You know that all of you are going to software jobs and never going to look back at this department. Not a single one of you interested in teaching. Are you?

Me: Yes I am.

H.O.D: See I told you no one is interested in teaching.

Me: No madam I said I was.

H.O.D: May be only one is interested! But all the others are same.

Me: Madam I don’t disagree with giving Rs 200, but think of this situation the money we have to give is currently that what is given by our parents. And when we say we need another Rs 200 just like that they will question us as to why? And we need to tell them a reason and that’s all I asked. After all it’s their hard earned money we are giving. So I was just asking a reason to give them, more over they also ask for receipts for this money we donate

H.O.D: O.K Now you know why we are collecting? And it will only be used for the good of the department and as far as the receipt is concerned we can’t hand it out since there are government issues concerning it. Anyway you have to clear your no dues to write you labs.

After a couple of more or less important chitchat and getting the report signed and Swami and I left the room.

Time of Exit 12.43 P.M

I saw my father outside the department; he was bored standing outside, I collected Rs 200 from him cleared the dues and then returned the library books and went back home to study for the Neural Computing exam, that I hope I will pass since I just managed to complete only 2 modules before the exam :-(

Anyway the bottom line was the H.O.D wanted some money for the department and this would have been a lot easier if she had called a group meeting of students and asked them politely stating the reasons for the donation.

As a final Conclusion in the analysis I rather say that the H.O.D is under pressure of the bureaucracy forces that is faced in every Government Institutions and I can’t actually come to a definite conclusion on her sanity but one thing is sure that she lives in an era where teacher-student relation was much more stronger and respected by both students alike. Her comment on the department being her child and also the students like her children has left me pretty much in a state of dilemma since her behavior towards us was never like that. And on this particular day she was treating us like union workers. Also she has a tendency to put blame on other. She thinks that we are all trying to out smart her and prove that she is an idiot. She thinks we are some kind of smart ass students and she always has treated us that we, anyway I never felt that I was part of any family that she mentioned in her discussion. She thinks we all follow the path of the damned and we are all ignorant fools and she always thinks that what she is analyzing about us is correct. Moreover she has been in the teaching post too long and has forgotten how it is to be a student. Which is why I believe that she was reaching so many wrong conclusions?

One thing I have to advice anybody who is interested in teaching is if u ever take up that job never forget the path of the student that you took before you became a teacher.

(On a lighter note if the H.O.D read this by any chance there is a good chance that she is going to make a good fuss out of it claiming I have no respect for teachers and I am a total fool and so on and so forth. If you are sensible enough to understand this entry you will understand why she says those.)