 Friday, December 24, 2004 |
Got an idea how this works?? @ 
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By Whoosh 2 @ 9:49 am 
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Google Sets got me thinking today. (http://labs.google.com/sets). What this thing does is, it takes a few words as input and tries to determine as many words as possible that "belong to it". To get a general feel of this thing, I'll run an example.. I gave the word "cell phone" (mobile phone) as input and it returned the following...
Cell phone
Pager
Telephone
Fax
Work Phone
Home Phone
Email
PDA
Blankets
Others
Palm OS
Closure
clothes
Smart Card
VISA
I think it is pretty cool, though i dont know how VISA is related to a cellphone. I, for the moment am not aware of any practical purpose that this "Set Maker" would solve, though I am sure there is a pretty good reason why it exists (If any of you can think of a practical use of the "Set Maker", please comment). But that apart, what got me thinking was the probable algorithm that is being used in this. There were three things that stood out in the above result set. They were
Clothes
Blankets
Others
How in the world are these things related to a cellphone? But on the other hand, one could immediately make a relation between "Clothes" and "Blankets". So, I initially thought that this could be a recursive algorithm - that is, having got to "Blankets" somehow, it would have tried to find all the words similar to "Blankets". But, if that is the case, when i ran the "Set Maker" for the word "Blankets", i should have got the word "Clothes". But, on the contrary, the word does not show up. (However, the word "Clothing" does show up, but i prefer to consider them as two different words). So, my initial premise that this is recursive in nature is for the moment-wrong!
So, my second postulate was that the algorithm did a search in its database for all the words that the user might have entered. It then tries to ascertain common words in all the pages that it might have shortlisted and then displays the results. Well, using this postulate, I ran the "Set Maker" for the words "Vikram" and "Madhavan" (These guys are South Indian Film Stars).
Here is the result:
Madhavan
Vikram
Abbas
Smita Jayekar
Maya Alagh
Anupam Kher
Diya Mirza
Navin Nischol
Now, the result might be a fair call. But the interesting part here are the things that dont turn up in the result. I do know that all the people in the list are actors. But of the above lot only Madhavan, Vikram and Abbas belong to the South Indian Industry. Why did the algorithm not include in the result names like "Rajni", "Kamal Hasan", "Shivaji" and the likes?? Definitely, these people are more-closely-related to "Madhavan" and "Vikram" than "Navin Nischol". So, if there are any pages that contain references to Madhavan and Vikram, the probability is higher that it would contain references to Rajni and Kamal Hasan rather than Smita Jayekar and Diya Mirza. So, I think I can safely say that my second postulate is also out of the window.
I still dont have a third postulate and I am currently chatting with Nithya from Delhi (my Orkut friend) as to how this might work! Lets see if we are able to solve the "puzzle". In the meanwhile, if you guys know how this might work, do comment. I would love to know your take on the algorithm!!
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| Thursday, December 23, 2004 |
| "Dai NHAI-ye.. Hindi edhukku da????" @
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| By Whoosh 2 @ 12:14 am
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This news article in The Hindu disturbed me..
"http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/22/stories/2004122210530100.htm"
Road upgradation has been underway in the South-Indian state of Tamilnadu (as in all other states) under the "Golden Quadrilateral" and the "North South Corridor" projects. The NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) is ,seemingly, doing a good job and the roads are a dream to drive on. Being a frequent traveller between the cities of Bangalore and Chennai, the completed stretches of road between Hosur and Krishnagiri and the one between Kancheepuram and Walajapet are excellent. That apart, another aspect of these roads that caught my attention were the nameboards and milestones. Surprisingly, in Tamilnadu, the nameboards were in Hindi and English. The milestones also followed the 3-language system as in the other states of India. I was extremely happy to see this development, as I thought that Tamilnadu was finally coming out of the "Anti-Hindi" crap!
But my happiness, apparently, is going to be shortlived. Ms.Jayalalitha (The Chief Minister of Tamilnadu) has brought in the same old "Tamil Sentiment" story and has requested the Indian Premier to order the NHAI to remove the Hindi markings and replace it in Tamil. And the sad part is that the Central Government has accepted. But, as Ms.Jayalalitha herself has accepted this 3-language policy is a part of the Indian Road Congress' recommendation (IRC Code 8-1980), which is expected to be followed by all the Indian states. Why should Taminadu be given "special treatment" in this regard?? The Hindi-being-imposed-on-us issue should be treated as a thing of the past and should be fast forgotten for Tamilnadu's own benefit. Hindi as a medium of "National Communication" is gaining fast acceptance and it would be in Tamilnadu's own interest that its children come out of the "Anti-Hindi" mentality and take an interest in the language.
When languages like Telugu and Malayalam can be found spoken in every nook and corner of Chennai City, why should a language that is spoken in every state of India, except TN, be viewed with such hatred??
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| Wednesday, December 22, 2004 |
| Autograph... @
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| By Whoosh 2 @ 2:01 am
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(This post might not make sense to the Non-Tamil readers)
Had Cheran been a computer engineer in the film Autograph, this song might have resulted...
To enjoy it to the fullest, i would suggest you play the Original song and sing these lines along!!! ...
"Gnaabagam varudhey.. Gnaabagam Varudhey...
Gnaabagam varudhey.. Gnaabagam Varudhey...
Pokishamaaga room-inil vaitha 80386 Gnaabagam Varudhey..
Gnaabagam varudhey.. Gnaabagam Varudhey...Gnaabagam Varudhey...
Pokishamaaga room-inil vaitha 80386 Gnaabagam Varudhey..
Yedho error-u vandhadhupoley..
Yedho debug seidhadhupoley..
Exception meendum vandhadhupoley..
Kangalin Oram..... Kanneer varudhey...
Gnaabagam varudhey.. Gnaabagam Varudhey...Gnaabagam Varudhey...
Mudhalmudhal aditha JAVA program
Mudhalmudhal paditha Flowchart diagram
Mudhalmudhal exam-il Control-C Control-V
Mudhalmudhal ketta MP3 paatu
Mudhalmudhal paartha Computer Mouse-u
Mudhalmudhal jeitha Half-Life game-u...
Mudhalmudhal irundha Black and White Screen-u
Mudhalmudhal aakiya Boot-up Disk-u
Mudhalmudhal pona Internet payanam
Mudhalmudhal azhudha Windows Crash-u...
Gnaabagam varudhey.. Gnaabagam Varudhey...Gnaabagam Varudhey...
Mudhalmudhalaaga pazhagiya code-u
Mudhalmudhalaaga ottiya program
3rd year edutha MGK teacher...
Mudhanmudhalaaga compiler thittiadhu
Mudhalmudhalaaga deadline-ku bayandhadhu
Mudhanmudhalaaga output rasithathu..
Mudhalmudhalaaga edutha print-out
Mudhalmudhalaaga virumbiya web-site
Mudhalmudhalaaga ezhudhiya e-mail
Mudhalmudhalaaga vaangiya web-cam..
Gnaabagam varudhey.. Gnaabagam Varudhey...Gnaabagam Varudhey...
Gnaabagam varudhey.. Gnaabagam Varudhey...Gnaabagam Varudhey..."
-Vikkki
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| Monday, December 20, 2004 |
| The "Bhramin" me... @
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| By Whoosh 2 @ 8:10 am
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So we had this feast in college sometime in May this year and for a change we had Non vegetarian food in campus. Hmm .. I was having a ball!!! Then this friend of mine Ms. S comes along..
V: Hmm.. Delicious
S: Vikkki, what are u eating?
V: Chicken Curry.. Its great!! Taste some..
S: How can u eat all this?
V: (surprised at the question) Why not? Its great...
S: Isnt it wrong?
V: Err.. I dont see anything wrong in this..
S: Bhramins shouldnt eat Non Veg.
V: And... Who is the Bhramin here??
S: You are..
Well people, for the record, I am not. But, i keep getting this reaction everywhere. I was having a conversation with my friend about this yesterday. And i was surprised to hear that she too took me for a Bhramin when she first saw me - a good 6 years back. And the reason that she gave was even crazier. "Well, u dont sport a mush. And moreover, u look like one". Like, excuse me.. how do you define how a Bhramin "looks like"??? Some say that my slang is also a bit Bhramin like.. Well, maybe that is because of the number of Bhramin friends that I have.
I honestly dont have a problem with people calling me a Bhramin. Just a case of mistaken opinion! It is when they stare at me when i eat NV food that drives me nuts.. Can i please have my chicken in peace???
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| Thursday, December 16, 2004 |
| The Murder Weapon... @
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| By Whoosh 2 @ 4:32 am
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Scene of Crime: The Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore
Time of Crime : Placement Week...
Murder Weapon: The Resume'.
How else can i describe my resume? It was the perfect weapon to commit murder with. And here the intended vitim (myself) hands out the weapon to his attacker (The interviewer). It is in an interview where u try to impress upon the interviewer your command over the subject. But, in my case, it turned out to be totally different..
So, here goes.. My Resume Shouts in bold letters, "SKILL SET". I had spent a good day trying to figure out what to include in this and what to leave out.. I finally settled for this.
"Databases: Oracle, MS SQL Server
Database Languages: SQL, PL/SQL...".
Ofcourse, it contained my other skills also.. But, the funny part is, i said to myself "hey, i am not going to attend the interview of any company that specializes in Databases.. so, what the hell.. Let these two lines remain"., for the fact of the matter was that it was almost a year since i worked on anything in the same Zipcode as SQL. The only sql query i could remember was "Select * from tablename".
But, again, i said to myself..."This is not a DB company.. so, no probs dear!"
The Big Day arrives.. I am in my formals, looking pretty decent... Was quite confident about the interview schedule for the day. The written exam was a breeze and i was sure that i would be shortlisted for the interview. And so I was..
The interviewer calls out, "Vikram, you'r next". I took a deep breath and marched in with my resume in the file that i usually carry around while giving interviews.
Interviewer (I) : Hello Vikram, I am .....................
Me (V) : Hi. How do u do? (Nice firm handshake...)
I: Can i see your resume?
V: Sure, here you go.
I: (browses through the three page booklet...) Tell me something about yourself..
( I was expecting this to be the first question and I had an answer prepared for this question more than a month before the interview!!!)
V: I am Vikram from Chennai..... blah blah blah...
I: So, Vikram, I gather from your resume that u have done some work on Oracle...
( What the hell??? what has Oracle got to do with this Interview??)
V: Yes Mam. A long time back though...
I: So, can u tell me what the different Normal Forms are? Why do we do Normalization and Who invented the notion of Normalization??
(Stab 1 right into my stomach... Blood oozes out of the wound... No first aid kit nearby... I hold onto my stomach trying to reduce the blood loss... This wasnt supposed to happen... Why a DBMS question here????!!!)
V: (Trying to bring all the archived data in my brain into the cache...) Well, err.. hmm.. Normalization is the process of reducing the redundancies in a table.. The different forms are 1,2,3,4 ,BCNF and 5. (I went on to explain the first 3 vaguely and I didnt remember 4 BCNF or 5).
I: (Sarcastically...) Hmm.. Alrite. So, now draw a table, populate it and perform all the normalizations on it....
(At this moment, the interviewer has taken a fist-full of salt and has rubbed it on the stab wound in my stomach!!! Is this called "Rubbing salt into one's wound"???)
V: (I drew a table and tried to do something to it... I dont remember what i did though... The only thing i remember was that my interviewer gave a glance to her co-interviewer and they exchanged a smile!!! "Hey! What was that supposed to mean??")
I: I gather that u dont remember this too much..
V: Err.. Yes..
I: Thats okay. Give me atleast 10 differences between a table and a view...
(Stab 2. Perfect one into my chest!!! Hell.. why is she asking DBMS questions????)
V:(Hmm.. A view!! Now, where have i heard that word before??? .. A lot of page faults and thrashing occurs between the RAM and the Hard disk of my brain in an attempt to locate the address of this answer... Finally after a lot of memory cycles, i recollected the answer...) A view is an abstraction of a table.. Blah Blah (i gave 6 differences... All that i could manage).
I: I think you are not too comfortable with questions on DBMS..
V: (Wow!! What a brainwave on her part!!!) Yes Mam. Its been a long time since i did anything related to Database Management.
I: Oh! I.c!! So, Vikram, can u differentiate between ADO and DAO?
(Now, the interviewer has taken both her hands and has placed it on my neck and is attempting to stranglate me.. I am feeling all dizzy.. Need some water.. HELP!!!!!!!!!!)
V:(I take a sip of water... Okay.. DAO and ADO.. Thats got something to do with connections, right??.. Hell, this interview is going nowhere!!!) ADO and DAO has got something to do with connections.... It determines the way in which u connect yout application to the Database.
I: Okay. Which did u use in your projects?
V:( Which eh? Okay. DAO or ADO? Inki Pinki Ponki. Father had a donkey. Donkey Died. Father cried. Inki Pinki Ponki. Ponki! DAO!!!!) I used DAO.
I: Any specific reason for your choice?
V:(Wouldnt I have already told that to u had i known it?) No Mam. Nothing specific.
I: Okay Vikram, I want you to write a stored procedure that would transfer four fields of the user's choice from a table that the user mentions to another table of the user's choice provided the 'balance' field does not exceed 50000 rupees...
(Knock Out! KO. It was delivered from a .50 calibre rifle. It was an excellent shot right into my head. The interviewer was a perfect markswoman. I lay unconcious on the floor. Nobody near me for help. But wait. All is not lost. Help from an unexpected source. My interviewer calls 911. The Ambulance arrives. I am put on the stretcher and am being administered drips.. The doctor removes the bullet. Thankfully, it just grazed my skull..)
I: Alrite Vikram. Tell me which area you are most comfortable in??
V: I am a networks engineer. My field of expertise is Computer Networks and Storage.
I: Oh! Is that so? Well, i am a DBMS person basically .... My co-interviewer is more the Networks guy among us.. He will be the better person to interview you...
V: (Wow! Music to my ears... ) Yes Madam. I could gather that your expertise was in the field of Database Management.. (I fake a smile...)
(At this point of time, Interviewer 2 takes over.. )
I2:Vikram, tell me, how would you classify the OSL layers??
V: (Oof! How I longed for a question like this...) Blah Blah Blah Blah...
I2: Could you explain the internal workings of a router??
V: (Ofcourse, I can....) Blah Blah Blah
(The drips are taking effect. I am recuperating.. The doctor (Interviewer 2) has just started to stitch up the stab wounds in my chest and stomach... Am feeling much better... He goes on to ask questions on Data structures (my other strong point), Java and C (all of which didnt prove to be too difficult....) Although the drips and the injections that were adminstered to me were taking effect, i still felt drowsy and dizzy.. The interview gives over.. I go outside to join my peers where I faint into the hands of Mr.Gopi (my classmate) standing out there... I narrated to him how horrible the interview went... Just then the attendant calls out... "Vikram, you have cleared the first interview. Please be ready for the second round in 5 minutes..." Wo!! I couldnt believe my ears... The second round went off without a hitch.. The HR round was a breeze.. I landed myself a job!!!!!!)
All's well that ends well.... My near-death experience is now a distant memory. But one thing i learned was that ur resume can be your best friend or your worst enemy!!!!!
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