1. 60 GB video ipod
2. Opteron 165 (dual core goodness!)
3. DFI Lanparty mobo to go with the Opteron
Now what I need is a good power supply and a good PCIE graphics card, and I'm all set... to do what? Uh... play the same games that were running nicely on my Athlon 2600+ and 5900?
Never looked at it this way
Mar 24, 2006
Mar 13, 2006
Crazy tax laws?
Do you have to pay advance tax?: "You can increase the amount of advance tax you pay in the next two dates. But you will have to pay interest of 1% per month on the outstandings. It may sound unfair, but that's the way the law stands."
I never did understand the concept of advance tax. I don't pretend to understand the rationale behind income tax in the first place, but let's gloss over that for now. From what I understand of advance tax, it seems that you need to estimate the income you will have in the coming year and decide how much tax you need to pay and pay that tax in 3 installments. And if you earn more than you estimated, then there is a penalty to be coughed up.
Riiiiiight. So I get screwed by the government if I am unable to predict the future? Go figure. And what happens if I earn less than what I predicted at the beginning of the year? Does the government pay me interest on the extra tax I paid?
Why do these people enjoy making life miserable for others?
I never did understand the concept of advance tax. I don't pretend to understand the rationale behind income tax in the first place, but let's gloss over that for now. From what I understand of advance tax, it seems that you need to estimate the income you will have in the coming year and decide how much tax you need to pay and pay that tax in 3 installments. And if you earn more than you estimated, then there is a penalty to be coughed up.
Riiiiiight. So I get screwed by the government if I am unable to predict the future? Go figure. And what happens if I earn less than what I predicted at the beginning of the year? Does the government pay me interest on the extra tax I paid?
Why do these people enjoy making life miserable for others?
Mar 11, 2006
Suicide and exams
There has been a spate of student suicides recently, coinciding with the onset of the exam season. This isn't a new phenomenon, and various people discussing it isn't new either.
What seems to be new is the fact that all and sundry are suddenly saying that excellence in formal education is not an indicator of success in the real world. I read an article in the newspaper about this, and they had rounded up all the celebrities who had done badly in their school days to speak up about this. They used to do this earlier too, but the tone suddenly seems to have changed from "it's not the end of the world, you can do something else and be successful" to "bah, education is for wimps, those who are good at studies are tunnel-visioned, those who are bad at studies have all these other good qualities that we find attractive"... And I didn't come up with the 'tunnel-visioned' word, it was actually used by one of the "celebrities" in the newspaper article. If I understood him correctly, he said that he doesn't hire first-class graduates since they are 'tunnel-visioned'.
These people then go on to say that success in the real world depends on courage and self belief and perseverance and other such nice words. If someone doesn't have enough courage and belief and perseverance, not to mention brains, to get through something as silly as a board exam; how do these experts expect him to be successful in the real world using these same qualities?
The first thing that children in schools should be taught is that they are not the center of the universe, regardless of what their parents seem to think. They should also be told that there are certain roles in society that can only be fulfilled by someone with excellent academic knowledge in addition to all those other fine qualities, and there are other roles where just the other fine qualities are enough to get by. If they can't do maths, it means they are deficient in that area, just as those who can't play football or do pushups are deficient in that area.
Spare students the shock of entering the real world after having being coddled all their lives. Tell them how it is as soon as possible.
What seems to be new is the fact that all and sundry are suddenly saying that excellence in formal education is not an indicator of success in the real world. I read an article in the newspaper about this, and they had rounded up all the celebrities who had done badly in their school days to speak up about this. They used to do this earlier too, but the tone suddenly seems to have changed from "it's not the end of the world, you can do something else and be successful" to "bah, education is for wimps, those who are good at studies are tunnel-visioned, those who are bad at studies have all these other good qualities that we find attractive"... And I didn't come up with the 'tunnel-visioned' word, it was actually used by one of the "celebrities" in the newspaper article. If I understood him correctly, he said that he doesn't hire first-class graduates since they are 'tunnel-visioned'.
These people then go on to say that success in the real world depends on courage and self belief and perseverance and other such nice words. If someone doesn't have enough courage and belief and perseverance, not to mention brains, to get through something as silly as a board exam; how do these experts expect him to be successful in the real world using these same qualities?
The first thing that children in schools should be taught is that they are not the center of the universe, regardless of what their parents seem to think. They should also be told that there are certain roles in society that can only be fulfilled by someone with excellent academic knowledge in addition to all those other fine qualities, and there are other roles where just the other fine qualities are enough to get by. If they can't do maths, it means they are deficient in that area, just as those who can't play football or do pushups are deficient in that area.
Spare students the shock of entering the real world after having being coddled all their lives. Tell them how it is as soon as possible.
Mar 10, 2006
India needs more PhDs?
India needs more PhDs. Here's why!: "In other areas of engineering, the picture is no better. Most of us know that except for the Indian Institutes of Technology and a few other institutions, the quality of undergraduate training is poor although the intake from the 10+2 system is good. Basically, we not only need a large number of graduates, but also good quality graduates. The recent U R Rao committee report has highlighted this issue clearly [3]."
I think the reason for this is quite clear. Teaching just isn't seen as a worthwhile career option. Neither is it considered worth it to "waste" another few years in higher studies in India.
People don't want to pay large sums of money for education. Which means that the people teaching in these institutions can never be paid as much as in industry. Which means that the best brains who pass out of those institutions will never go back there to teach or for research. Why would a PhD in Computer Science go back to teach when he can make a fortune by simply joining a software company?
Strangely enough, people crib about the high standards of education in schools and colleges, especially about exams and entrance procedures. How, in the name of the FSM, do you expect more PhDs if you are going to make Maths an optional subject in school?
"If a state like California can have ten University of California campuses giving comparable undergraduate education, certainly a country of one billion can have at least 20 IITs or IIT-type institutions!"
Such things already exist and are called the NITs. One must understand that all the UC campuses are not considered on equal footing by the student community, at least they weren't when I was a student.
Perhaps what needs to change is the economics of education. We weren't allowed to take "optional" courses because there weren't enough students to fill a class even though the teachers were willing to teach only a handful of us. And I hear similar stories from every college.
And it goes without saying, keep the politicians' grubby paws away from these institutions.
I think the reason for this is quite clear. Teaching just isn't seen as a worthwhile career option. Neither is it considered worth it to "waste" another few years in higher studies in India.
People don't want to pay large sums of money for education. Which means that the people teaching in these institutions can never be paid as much as in industry. Which means that the best brains who pass out of those institutions will never go back there to teach or for research. Why would a PhD in Computer Science go back to teach when he can make a fortune by simply joining a software company?
Strangely enough, people crib about the high standards of education in schools and colleges, especially about exams and entrance procedures. How, in the name of the FSM, do you expect more PhDs if you are going to make Maths an optional subject in school?
"If a state like California can have ten University of California campuses giving comparable undergraduate education, certainly a country of one billion can have at least 20 IITs or IIT-type institutions!"
Such things already exist and are called the NITs. One must understand that all the UC campuses are not considered on equal footing by the student community, at least they weren't when I was a student.
Perhaps what needs to change is the economics of education. We weren't allowed to take "optional" courses because there weren't enough students to fill a class even though the teachers were willing to teach only a handful of us. And I hear similar stories from every college.
And it goes without saying, keep the politicians' grubby paws away from these institutions.
Mar 8, 2006
Another one bytes the dust
Recycle Bin
End of a blog. Maybe not the end of the author, but perhaps the end of his role as a blogger.
How do I get more hits?
That question gives me fits
Search engines sent me mindless gits
And my blog kept dying in bits
So one day Veera said "bye".
Kicked his blog out to die
Got back to his debugger with a sigh
(Maybe his writing was a bit dry?)
Another one bytes the dust
The "Recycle Bin" has gone bust
So kill the blog if you must
And go to my other blog if you... uh, you know...
End of a blog. Maybe not the end of the author, but perhaps the end of his role as a blogger.
How do I get more hits?
That question gives me fits
Search engines sent me mindless gits
And my blog kept dying in bits
So one day Veera said "bye".
Kicked his blog out to die
Got back to his debugger with a sigh
(Maybe his writing was a bit dry?)
Another one bytes the dust
The "Recycle Bin" has gone bust
So kill the blog if you must
And go to my other blog if you... uh, you know...
Mar 7, 2006
I've been saying this all along!
Selling the India IT story, to Indians: "Citibank North America CIO Mitchell J Habib is a suave, consummate speaker. He made a rather energetic presentation to delegates at Nasscom's India Leadership Forum 2006 in Mumbai a few weeks ago.
'I am the client,' he said, pacing up and down the stage. He used a slick, animation-rich power point presentation. He explained exactly what he was looking for from Indian companies. He asked Indian IT companies to stop touting their CMM levels."
'I am the client,' he said, pacing up and down the stage. He used a slick, animation-rich power point presentation. He explained exactly what he was looking for from Indian companies. He asked Indian IT companies to stop touting their CMM levels."
Mar 1, 2006
ATMs
Looks like the service tax on ATMs is only when the bank charges you for ATM usage, e.g. when you use another bank's ATM to get money. Thankfully they still haven't decided to tax my own withdrawals!
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