Seminar Time !!!

Today I had to take a seminar in front of the whole class on Shifter and Accumulator Design. So I thought that it would be nice to blog about seminars, an dhow they affect you...
For some people, taking a seminar in front of a whole load of people can be a harrowing experience. Your mouth becomes dry, you start sweating like a pig, and you stare around with a deer-in-the-headlights like look.
Thankfully, not me. I don't fall into that category. I know that I can go out there and give a good session. The only thing is, how good. Because each time I get on that dais, I want to outdo myself. I want to give the best seminar I have ever given. And I want each seminar of  mine to be my best so far. And with that pressure begins to build on me. I knew I could do it, but just getting through it is not enough, I want to do it great.
But the thing is, what I felt is not tension, or anxiety, or fear. It was excitement. You know that mix of emotions which surges through you when you are next in line to go on to a stage, and deliver a poem or speech you have worked very hard to get right? Not pure fear, but rather that sense of purpose, and direction.
I love it.
And all of this emotion lasts for so long that I get on stage. Once I am on, I am ON. There is no fear, no butterflies or caterpillars in my stomach, no nothing. That is what I am thankful about.
But one thing you notice is, people listen to you. People tend to listen to you speaking more than the teachers, but there is that occasional talk among a couple of students, and it gets on your nerves. You feel that you are working so hard on your seminar, and these people have the audacity to talk????
I would've loved to fire them on the spot, and believe me I could. But I didn't because I did it too. Not all the time, but even for a couple of times, I did it. Now you know why teacher's snap when people talk in their class.
I had just this one hour, imagine having to take 4-5 hours a day!!!
The output I got was fairly good, I think I gave it my best. Everyone appreciated it.
But now I have one more on 23rd, and I have to use a projector then.
To be frank, I hate the projector. As much as you can argue, it is not a good teaching tool. It is used only by people who are lazy to use the board, or want to finish portions fast. For efficient teaching it is a no-no.
Well, I have to use it, and I will.
My first class with a projector...
Coming Soon...
Only on Amit Forever...

Turmoil...

Whew, it has been a roller coaster month, this one. For one, one of out teachers was leaving today, so she bombed with her second series test today, but we only got to write it for 45 minutes before we had a strike ( perks of being in a government college). So we left, and class has been suspended for two days due to a fight.
That and we had to write one more series test on 15,16,17 and I personally think I've done just fine. Plus, who needs top marks??? Steve Jobs??? Bill Gates???? Both never completed college and see how they turned out. Then was the untimely cold attack which laid me out cold for 2-3 days straight out. I am still feeling the effects....
But I am off home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Unexpected.
But that's how life is....
"See the big picture....
                              ....But be prepared for the picture to change"
                                                                          -Donald Trump

It's been long...

I know it has been too long since my last post. I have took blogger many times in the past couple of days, but I never got to posting, because I had no topic on which to write. And come to think of it, that holds even now. But I thought maybe, it would be best if I wrote something.
What to write about? Well, I'll just talk about one of the most bizarre and frustrating aspect of my life. In fact, it is a part of anyone who is in the age group of 17-20. It is the time when you begin to transform from a child to an adult. But what makes this period so difficult is that you are neither. You are neither fully a child, not yet an adult. The result is a completely maddening aspect of your life. One second your parents are telling you that you have grown up, and need to be more responsible, while they often reverse the statement in a matter of minutes. Now you are a child who needs to listen to them.
The question is, what are we supposed to believe? Are we supposed to believe that we are adults or children? The resulting situation leads to a big problem. Indecision. You are faced with decisions you have to make 'for the greater good', mature decisions that are meant to show the world that you have grown up. But at the same time, you are burning inside, to just be a kid and go ahead and have fun. Often you are expected to be a mature person, when you just want to be a kid, and at other times, you are expected to behave like a kid when you don't want to.
When will this end? What is the way out? I for one have no idea.
And I just want a final answer if you have one. Are we kids or adults? I know what you will say.
Kidults.

Ghosts of the Past

Ever heard of the expression 'the past coming back to haunt you' ? Well, that is one way of describing what happened.

To start the story, we need to rewind back about two months. 11 November 2011. 11 11 11. Digital System Design exam. Should've smelled a rat when it was postponed from the 1st to this date, but we went ahead and wrote the damn thing. When some of us skimmed over the paper, we were shocked. Isn't this just like the 2009 paper? One or two questions being the same, that's normal, when the part B seems like the thing's been xeroxed, that is a whole new ball game. I for one checked the paper's year personally. But, what the hell, good for us, and we wrote the thing and got out.

Fast forward two months, and we have just written the exam again. Apparently the things we felt were universal, and some one had complained, the paper was cancelled, and we just had a retest.

How was it? Good. I'd say better than the last one. Thank you my King. 

When will we get modern???

Today made one thing clear to me, and that thing is how archaic my college really is. It doesn't matter if it is over 75 years old, I can live with that. But sometimes some things leave me amused, other things get on my nerves.


Ever heard of a fanfold paper? No? Can't really blame you. Maybe your parents have. Remember that continuous sheet of paper perforated at regular intervals, and has holes in the sides? Ring a bell???


The fanfold paper was used exclusively for taking printouts from a dot matrix printer. And when the dot matrix went out of scope i.e. became extinct, the fanfold paper too began crashing. 
Here's an extract from wikipedia...


" Continuous form paper began to disappear from the consumer market in the 1990s as desktop publishing, and WYSIWYG document generation became more popular and widespread. Consumers were willing to pay more to get a laser printer or inkjet printer that could produce near-typeset-quality documents. These printers accept standard size cut sheets (letter, legal or A4) of paper and don't require continuous form paper. Continuous form paper continues to be used in specialty commercial and industrial markets and, as of 2011, is still available from large office suppliers such asOfficeMax. "


They forgot one...our college. It is one place where thay still use dot matrix printers and fanfold papers. And we were told to buy that for an assignment. We asked in 4 shops including our store, and the answer was all negative.
The question is...when will we update? The second we shake off the cobwebs, let go of outdated and worn out traditions , we will begin to get somewhere...But I don't see that coming any time soon...

It's my Birthday Today!!!

Woo Woo Woo!

5th January. You know what that means to me? It is a day which has always been a day of joy and happiness, regardless of how the day goes. And if you look back, you will see that I had some preconcieved notions of how 2012 was going to be for me and I was whining about how things were not going right, and maybe, you see my post start with a newfound hope. That is right. I am now feeding off of hope. For every valley, there is a mountaintop...an...uh oh...maybe I'd best leave my philosophy lesson for later....
Coming back to my birthday...
I did not take toffees to my class or anything of the sort, because frankly, I  don't see the point of it.
 I just bought a chocolate shake each for my inner circle of friends. That was it.
And I'd like to thank everyone who has wished me happy birthday!!!!

Welcome to the New Year!!!

It is here. Finally. The year that has been playing on everyone's tongues ever since the Mayan calender was uncovered. The year that means good for some and bad for the others and 'depends on how you make it' for the literati.
But I am not here to have a plain old discussion about what is right and what is wrong.
I am here to speak my mind.
And I don't think 2012 is a good year for me.
Why, you ask. Well, I can't say for sure, anyway you would simply laugh at me. It has been 3 days into the New Year, and to be frank, not a day has passed without some sort of a mishap. These may not be a big deal to you, but couple that with the gut feeling that I have and you get  a pretty strong evidence that 2012 is not my year.
Bogus. This kid is nuts.
That is what you thought right now, didn't you???
Well, hear me out.
What do you do when something doesn't go your way? You make it go your way. It is as simple as that. And that is what I will do. I will work my head off to make everything go my way. The time is long past when you can simply whine about how destiny has struck a raw deal with you, how you are the victim for ever and always, and how unlucky you actually are.
I will share a piece of wisdom with you.
Luck is for Losers.
Luck is just an institution that the lazy people invented to explain off their failures. It does not exist. Through hard work and dedication, you can create you own good luck.
There is one other thing I can say, and that is about doubt. Doubt ruins everything. Take a foundation no matter how strong, sprinkle generously with doubt and watch it crumble. But that is easier said than done, right.
I am trying to make a change. I don't know how much I can do. I don't know how long it will last. But I have to try.