Tabula Rasa

Pseudoscience - Astrology vs Economics vs Financial Engineering

2009-07-14T23:00:00.002-04:00

This article is ,by no means, a vindication of astrology.

Astrology is labelled as a pseudoscience. Agreed.
But then, economics and financial engineering are pretty much in the same boat as astrology.

If I think about the underlying science behind astrology, it could be a regression model (not necessarily linear) mimicking the effect of planetary magnetic fields on the human mind. Assuming that the magnetic field/pattern of the human brain is accurately mapped using the astrological charts. The effects of changing gravitational fields upon this static (really ?) mapping is evaluated using the original regression model. The analysis is subject to the interpretation of the astrologer and as in the case of regression models, noise could be pretty substantial. Is there a perfect science behind this ? As an Azimovian and lover of his mythology of psychohistory and foundation, I still do not believe that we can model individual human beings or humanity as a whole. It would still be interesting to analyze astrology from a mathematical perspective.

Let's talk about economics or financial engineering. Economics should never be awarded a nobel prize (as was the original intention of Alfie Nobel - Was it because of his wife running with an economist (crazy) or a well thought out decision ? One can never know except speculate.). It is pretty much pseudoscience as astrology.
Using math and statistics does not alone warrant an exalted status.

Economics (and financial engineering) try to model ever dynamic human behavior using past data. Ain't gonna work. All the failed economists who predicted eternal prosperity during the great depression of 1929 and the not so great recession of 2007-2009 are testimonial enough of this fact.....

Econ is another scam with everyone in cahoots! Just my two paise. :-)

A Study in Emerald

2009-07-14T22:31:00.003-04:00

I recently read this Sherlock Holmes "spoof" ( I use the word spoof very liberally here.) by Neil Gaiman ( who elevated himself onto my great author's list - not yet all time favorite. He did come close with the Sandman series though).

The entire short story can be found in A Study in Emerald.
It is very cool spoof of Holmes and HP Lovecraft's Cthulu.
The story had interesting twists.
However, Dynamics of an asteriod was a dead giveaway.
To the delight of the initiated, there were many references to the SH folklore and H.P.Lovecraft mythology. Add in the advertisements - simply awesome.

My only disappointment was that the story was short.
I expected the story to be a bit more protracted like the original Study in Scarlet.

You can't take the sky from me

2009-07-14T22:05:00.005-04:00

One of my favorite theme songs from the show Firefly (movie Serenity)....

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me...

The song video can be found below:
Firefly/Serenity Video.

My favorite episodes:
Jaynestown and Out of Gas!
Jaynestown is especially great - both hilarious and philosophical.
Our Mrs.Reynolds had some interesting moments.

btw, firefly is a space western.

From Darkness to Light

2009-07-02T15:56:00.001-04:00

It is time for me to move from darkness to light......
I changed the template from dark black to white.......

And Naveen said " Let there be light....". Lo! behold, then there was light everywhere in his blog
guided by st.blogspot's customized templates......

Jazz n' Blues

2008-06-29T22:24:00.002-04:00

I have been listening to Jazz and Blues songs inspired by Cowboy Bepop.
I started liking the music in my own way...

Some songs remind of rainy days in my childhood.
Me perched on a window, looking at rainy world out there.
The world stops still ( I am talking about the mid/late 80's in Madras)
and the rain moves almost in slow motion.
Then when it pours really bad, there is this huge noise.
Time did move slow then.

I don't know. The music makes me think of days gone by, days to come and
sometimes the moment I live in.
It is a rush of characters, landscapes, events,sounds, ....

A drop of water on the glass slowly moving down leaving a trail in its wake...

Incoherent thoughts as usual. Why do I care ? Coherence and sanity are way overrated...

The Tale of a PAWN

2008-05-04T00:59:00.015-04:00

I read a poem of my friend , Vicky for the Cafe Writing - December Project for the following picture. (Credit: Carmi Levy of Written, Inc.)
I wanted to write something on this. But I did not have the time.
Couple of months passed, I suddenly got this idea out of the blue and
I was not even thinking about it. My mind is really a scary place....
My friends poem is Vicky. I think the poem is really awesome and better than this story.
Also, read my comments at the end of the story:

A Tale of a Pawn

This is my story. Who am I ?
My name is D7, But my name changes as I move.
I am a pawn, a soldier in the service of my King and Queen.
I fight this endless war for a reason I know not.
But, like my brethren, I fight without asking.
There are others like me and others unlike me who fight for our
cause. Sometimes, I wonder about my purpose.
Am I merely a merchant of death ?

I do not remember my childhood. I have not travelled widely.
I take a step at a time. Each time I go to battle, I fear for my life.
My hands tremble for I see opposing me an entire army composed of
pawns like me, the holy bishops who pray and yet kill for religion,
the knights who leap and smash, the rooks who shake the BOARD as
they march and stamp out any in their path,
the fearless,beautiful Queen who can travel in a flash and kill in an instant and the resolute King who seeks victory. My army mirrors theirs and they us like the two sides of a coin representing something I know not.

I speak with my steady comrade to my left ,who counsels me thus.
"Our work is temporary; We die whether we win or lose.
That is the nature of all things. If there is a beginning, then there is
an end. But, worry not, the King Bishop told me that if you fight well
and serve well, the PLAYER, the one who is greater than the King and
is the maker of all,will be pleased and you will reincarnate to fight
your battles again".

Hearing this, my nervous friend to the right , stammers thus:
"T-the Wise Q-queen Bishop, She told me that the P-player wages
this war against the P-layer of the O-ooother Kkking. She says
each time our world is created and destroyed, our PLAYER learns
something called "STRATEGY".She says that there is PLAYER called
CHAMPION who is the most supreme of PLAYERS.She asked me to
pray to our PLAYER and the CHAMPION for courage and life".

Not consoled by this, I sleep, during the lull in the battle.
I dream about a PLAYER of the PLAYERS named the GOD
(upon retrospection, a very silly name), who creates and destroys
the worlds of the PLAYERS to learn this things called "STRATEGY".
I wonder about the CHAMPION of these GODS and I call him
SUPREME ONE.I also dream that there is no GOD or SUPREME ONE
and that the PLAYERS was created out of life's longing
for itself. I dream about me becoming a PLAYER one day and not
dying. I wonder if the PLAYERS die.
I wonder why I do not have control over my life.
Why I must keep living in this Valhalla ?
Why did not my PLAYER let me have my own free will to live my life
rather his predetermined pattern ? Or maybe I do
have free will but I blame the PLAYER for my own faults ?
Does not the PLAYER have free will or does he live his own patterns too?

Suddenly, the King roars at me waking me out of my reverie, "Beware Soldier, yonder knight seeks to slay you". Shivering with fear, I pray to my PLAYER for his forgiveness at my blasphemy. I hear the sound of steel clashing, horse hooves pounding hard and death approaching. I cry "En Garde" and fight..........

My Comments:
When I was a kid, I used to love the Commando comics based upon
WWI/WWII. I always used the stories where the human element
and characterization was very good. Where the focus was more
on the person rather than the story. I kinda wanted to make D7
talk to everyone on the board and get their counsel.
But I let it go. Maybe I will work on it later.

I originally had the title as "The Story of a Soldier"
but I renamed it as " The Story of a Pawn".
I think the word Pawn reflects the tale above better.
I am not sure if the the story is about the pawn or me (still a pawn/if not us).

I spent 10-20 mts to draft this initial story.
I think it needs a bit more editing.
But I leave this unfinished, unrefined and incomplete just
the way I like it.

Encore Un Verre - Yoko Kanno

2008-04-01T10:53:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite fun songs - Encore Un Verre by Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts from Cowboy Bepop OST. The lyrics are french. but there is a english translation below:

Encore un verre, cette fois sera la derniere
Tchin Tchin ! camp�, Kampai ! Sant� !
Ma m�re disait "qui a bu boira"
Bien qu'avis�, j'suis viss� la

Ce soir je broie du noir
Je noie au bar,
En vrac, mon blues dans du cognac
Encore un verre, le der des der d�salt�re

"Bien mal acquis ne profite jamais"
Mais ce whiskey je l'ai pas vol�
C'est c'que dit la serveuse, une allumeuse
Qui tient la bouteille dans sa main
Je l�ve mon verre � ceux qui marchent de travers

"Un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras"
"Qui s�me le vent r�cole la temp�te"
"Carpe Diem"
"Un homme averti en vaut deux"

TRANSLATION:
+++++++++++++++++

Another glass, this time will be the last
Chink chink! Set down, Kampai health!
My mother said "who has drunk will drink"
Even though advised, I am screwed[1] there.

This night I mope
I drown at the bar,
My jumbled blues in cognac
Another glass, the last of the last[2] refreshes

"Poorly gained never profits"
But I have not stolen this whiskey
That's what the waitress said, a teaser
Who holds the bottle in her hand
I lift my glass at those who walk askew

One had is better than two you will have"
"Who sows the wind gathers the storm"
"Sieze the day"
"A man warned is worth two[3]"

Chaos Theory.....

2008-03-11T19:37:00.003-04:00

Ah! The eternal battle between order and chaos
being played out since the dawn of origin
Or is it all a mere play in the realm of Oneiros
ensnaring worlds and their hordes in the cult of min

Marvel and rejoice in the runes of bedlam
for order sans chaos and chaos sans order
reeks of ennui and a verse unlike gotham
trading the bats and the clown in barter

Aren't all religions mere sensory allegories
with asuras and devas just amulets worn
recall this! lest you provoke the furies
for hell has no fury like the knowledge you scorn

Social pendulum swinging away for eternity
Was the verse born out of chaos ? Or order 'fore chaos ?
When does this all end in the arms of Nirrti ?
Now,I melt away in the pasithea's bossom and cradle of hypnos.

This really needs a lot of fixing and I am too tired to finish this...
And you really need to look deep into pop culture and ancient history
to understand this "POEM". There are references to indian folklore,
egyptian folklore, greek folklore and of course, batman here.

Challenges and Obstacles!!!

2008-03-11T19:21:00.000-04:00

To a certain extent, challenges exert and keep me "happy".
They kinda give me a purpose, to which my entire being is devoted
to and wishes to accomplish. Otherwise, ennui and aimless existence
seem to plague me. But yet there have been times I have been driven
by a single minded purpose, zeal and a passion. I feel very alive then.
It is almost as if every nerve, fiber of my body, mind and soul ( I think I
did sell it to you know who :-) ) is alive and enveloped by a all consuming
desire to accomplish what i had in mind.

Challenges and Obstacles, in a sense they define us. Mankind itself
has grown from strength to strength through challenges and adversity.

The Enemy

2008-03-10T18:52:00.000-04:00

I have met the enemy and he is me!

This is a corruption of Commodore Perry famous quote.

Anime!!!

2008-03-10T18:39:00.000-04:00

I was introduced to the world of Animes by my roomies.
This is a very amazing world indeed. Its almost as if some of them
were made for me. A wonderful medley of music, philosophical
storylines, cultural references in a cartoonish medium. Beaut!

Some recommendations:

1. Cowboy Bepop ( See the series episodes and then the movie. the movie should be seen after
episode 17 and then remaining episodes should be watched.)
2. Samurai Champaloo ( Bepop is definitely better than this imho. But this is cool too...)

Art of Writing

2008-03-09T19:49:00.000-04:00

I gotta master the art of writing.
So far, I figure that I am really crappy.

Why is mediocrity such an curse for me ?

My writing is so raw.

Any suggestions, readers ?

p.s: Readers, if you are really reading my blog and wasting your time,
that means you are the one who has attained nirvana.
If not, it means you have something wrong in your brainworks!.
It means you are doomed along with me in an endless repetitive
mind warping time cycle. Did you even understand what I just wrote ?
I sure as hell did not.

Cry of your soul...

2008-03-09T19:30:00.000-04:00

Have you listened to the cry of your soul ?
I don't mean a battle cry or cry of anguish. But the cry of a wanderer
in eternal search of something , something you can never begin to
define. It is a parallel activity going on in your subconsciousness,
whilst you are working on my daily activities, knowing that they
are trivial.

What is purpose then ? Is it the act of procreation, producing
individual beings for the sole purpose of experiencing life,
emotions, turmoils in order for a wholesome,larger sentient
being to savor them ?
(Sounds like Vishishta Advaitam to me! funny!)

Or Do we at the end of continuous birth-life-death lifecycle ( Yes!,
I do believe in reincarnation because in my last birth I was ??????.)
become the new gods and demons responsible for the creation of a
new multiverse ( I see no reason why there has to be only universe
with only set of possibilities of occurences. I like the idea of a
multiverse where for each action I did take or did not take,
I am there in another universe where I took an alternate action.).

Who do I seek ? What do I seek ? Why do I seek ? Eternal questions
for everyone. Yet ever unanswered , ever disdained as decadent,
ever relegated to the disused corners of the vast corridors of human mind.

Morality, emotions, thoughts- What are they then ? Are they mere
feeble artificial creations in order to structure our existence and
safeguard civilization ? After all, what's right in one country is
terribly immoral in another ? (OMG, this is so Mr.Anderson and
Neo! )

What is the balance ? Who do we seek it ?

How does one seek redemption ? How does one fight and win that
which eats at the very core of his soul ? When does identity emerge
as a consciousness ? When does good and bad emerge ? And what the
heck am I whining about ?

Dumas!! Dumas!!- Edmond Dantes, Athos, Pothos, Aramis and D'Artagnan

2008-03-09T18:40:00.001-04:00

What would the world do without Dumas ? I still reminiscence of the days I and my brother watched Count of Monte Cristo and Three Musketeers cartoons on DD (TV Channel in India).
I did read both the the Musketeer series including The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years later,
Man in the Iron Mask and the Count of Monte Cristo.

Cries of "Jackapo!Jackapo! Where are you, my man ? " , "Chateau D'If", " All for One , One for All"," Athos, Pothos,Aramis and D'Artagnan".... It's almost as if yesterday.

I saw a japanese anime adaptation of Count of Monte Cristo- Gankutsuou, which was cool at the beginning and became totally gay later on. I then went to Barnes and Noble and bought the complete works of Dumas.. I have started reading Count of Monte Cristo and listening to some music (mixing a medley of Bach, Beethoven , Mozart, Carpenters! and Savage Garden).

How should I describe the experience ? Not Ecstatic, Not Dream Like.
Simply put - Just perfect and fulfilling.

May Dumas live for eternity.
I hear a cry : "En Garde!" and I hear swords clashing...

Gotta go. Dantes would be very peeved at me if I delay reading his moment of revenge. He did wait for quite some years, after all.

Tabula Rasa TShirt

2008-02-19T21:01:00.000-05:00

I saw a Tabula Rasa TShirt @ CompUsa and immediately got it.
Sweet!! They release TShirts named after my ever popular and omniscient blog!!!
Talk about megalomani... The T was after the Game.

But I have grand views for Tabula Rasa.

The Social Pendulum.....And the patterns...

2007-12-15T22:16:00.000-05:00

The more I read and the more I interact about cultures and countries, the more I see the social patterns and the social pendulum.....

What is the social pendulum ? Action and Reaction- the age old game.....
Take any concept in society or sociology,for eg: religion,
lets say there is a status quo initially. there is a pull towards one side (lets say extremism)
for some time, after a point -the breaking point , the pendulum swings to the other side (liberalism). It does not swing to the center - the balance....the breaking point is conditioned on various factors... again the pendulum is not unidimensional ,rather multidimensional....
And also, the duality -if not the trinity part of it...
its like yin and yang but with a third one which is the balance.....

And the patterns!!wow...they had to be there...in spite of all of our differences, humanity did originate from a single place...so there has to be commonality...

Stochastic Calculus

2007-05-18T02:11:00.000-04:00

Scored A+ in Stochastic Calculus II. One of the toughest courses
in MSCF. Aimed for it and got it.....
Cool!!!! A sense of pride and belonging filters onto my mind.

Survivor

2007-05-18T01:59:00.000-04:00

When the chips are down and you are up against the wall, it is a battle
for your survival and existence. Then, you dig in, reach for him, the fiercest
survivor since the dawn of time, strong ,fighting every moment to survive
and win, you stare at him, laugh for you are looking at mirror and he
becomes you, a feral beast who survives and wins no matter the odds.
It does not matter if you are not the smartest, not the most intelligent,
most hard working.....All it matters is him the beast egging you onto
survive,driving you past your barriers both physical and mental onto
the race ,into the mouth of madness. Then, you laugh for you are him.

You dig in..You go back to your basics, your fundamentals, the quintessential
you, break everything down with the beast inside you.....

You better find him or you are dead as you stand....

Ghosts of the Past

2007-02-21T15:53:00.000-05:00

Ghosts of the past!!!!! Not like a christmas carol story......

Was driving up with my friend Doug Houston to NYC from Pittsburgh.....
We were listening to some old english songs from the 70s to the mid 90s....
i guess, these were songs we grew up listening to and surprisingly and not
surprisingly many were common favorites......( given the fact we grew up in
different countries)

It was highly nostalgic...... Driving on the highways and singing songs together..
Some of the songs were:

How Bizzarre, Lemon Tree, Abba , Lionel Ritchie, .......

But it brought back memories of me growing up, my childhood, friends,
relatives, my house, everything.....

Songs are like indexes to some events sometimes.....
You suddenly hear a song out of the blue and you think almost immediately
about the event......

In the words of Kevin of Wonder Years, I really still look back at the days gone by
with wonder and hope for the present and future!!!!

Pittsburgh

2006-12-07T11:49:00.000-05:00

This was a rather cool Calvin and Hobbes strip about Pittsburgh!!!
The place where I live.....

The strip literally rises a lot of questions about my existence and me!!!

Poignance

2006-11-06T22:17:00.000-05:00

Poignance - When I mean poignance, I do not mean pity or
sorrow but rather the power of the moment.

Have you ever been in a moment where the moment defines
you or in a sense you defined the moment ? It's almost
like the moment is so,so special or so divine or so
poignant (;-)) that it is a part of your life for ever.
It's a part of you. Sometimes it's almost as it it haunts
you and you just feel like you want to be in the moment
forever forgetting to live in your present.

How much ever you define it ? You just can't define it.
Or maybe you can!!!

Life is beautiful...

Begin......and the rest is easy

2006-11-01T19:35:00.000-05:00

I got this from a chinese fortune cookie when I was eating chinese food
at a chinese restaurant near oakland with my friend Doug.

It put a lot of things in perspective especially at the start of mini-2.
I don't want to elaborate on this much...

Just a reminder to me....

Perspective is everything, I guess

Batman

2006-09-15T20:36:00.000-04:00

What can I say ?
I owe Bob Kane, Frank Miller and DC comics a lot for Batman.

What godfather is for movies, batman is for comics!!

especially the frank miller comic novels!!!

Year One - birth and growth
Knightfall - breaking and rejuvenation
Dark Knight returns - death

I loved the above three sets a lot.

especially the Knightfall series and DKR.

Knightfall is about how batman is defeated by Bane and crippled by him.
Bruce Wayne (a.k.a Batman) then goes through trials and tribulations
including a beautiful training by lady shiva and returns to claim the mantle
of the bat from azrael.

DKR - is about a old bruce wayne who has relinquished being batman
comes back needing the batman just as the batman needs bruce wayne.
he comes back and sets a lot things straight finally leading
to a confrontation with Superman. his confrontation with supes is too good
though i dare say supes was really restraining too much. then in the finally
moment when he is pummeling supes, he has a heart attack and seemingly dies.

But finally, he turns alive and is training a bat army.....

become a frank miller fan ....

Then came the sandman with neil gaiman rocking me...
about it later

Silence and Turbulence

2006-09-15T20:23:00.001-04:00

Magnificient is silence
amidst all this turbulence
the silence within your heart
Its beauty can render you apart

Silence amidst all the noises
when peace is one of your choices
hundred thousand watts around you blaring
and you merely stroll or think not hearing

Heart feels as if it is about to burst
Yet you enjoy the moment and do rest
Loneliness is so and so beautiful
I hated it then, now I embrace it afull.

____________________

Loneliness and silence , my companions so beautiful.
To think I wrote a poem about my agony then.
Well, that was then, this is now.
I am just feel numb like in a dream. but i enjoy being numb.
just attending classes , doing things alone...
am not calling anyone much, occasional calls to my friends
in UMN and boston.rare calls to family.

This is peace for the moment.
hopefully, this is not calm before the storm nor the
eye of the storm before all hell breaks loose.

Young Minds

2006-09-15T20:14:00.000-04:00

Your mind is like a jet
When you are young,
All seem easily to set,
What did say carl jung ?

Then, I used to whirl through Math
Now,a simple sum leaves me in a sweaty bath
Who am I ? a mere shell of my former self.
Too many hurdles passed leaving a scarred elf.

Never will stop trying to win
not to do so is the greatest sin
Work it out I should
Excel then I could

A stupid poem I now wrote
about my mind to erode
Do not mock me thus,reader
for I am a tired crusader.

Pub crawl

2006-09-15T20:09:00.000-04:00

Here at Tepper school at CMU, we have this activity called pub crawl every thursday.

every thursday, all tepper students( not all always) gather at a pub somewhere @10:00 PM in shadyside , drink beer and of course, other alcoholic drinks (based upon what they want), TALK and network ,
just talk about any topic under the sun.

Though mostly MBA s turn up, it is really cool. oppurtunity to discuss with ppl from diverse backgrounds more experience than you have...of course the beer!!!!
night air is cool!!!! somehow i like enjoy it.....

then after spending 1 -2 hrs at a pub, whoever is left move to the next pub......sometimes.
mostly it is the beer :-).

i just dont feel like making this post coherent. will leave it incoherent as it is.

Lectures

2006-09-07T18:36:00.000-04:00

I have this diseases called Lectureitisbraindeaditis and syndrome is basically
extensive sleepiness during lectures which are even slightly disinteresting.
Uptil now, i found 2-3 profs great and some Ok. even the best have their offdays.

Of i go sleeping or dreaming about sleeping again or something or reminiscing about some book.especially the 9:00 AM lectures.

But the profs are amazing here. I generally try to understand them. And I do.
however, I always been someone who understands by reading more than a listener (which I do but not on a daily basis). But finance,,, i listen to almost every word.

I like the lectures here. The first time in my life i ever have....hmmmm!!!!

Another definition for Peace

2006-09-07T14:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday at 9:30 PM, i really felt this.
Went to cold stone creamery and bought a strawberry bananas rendezvous.
Went literally bananas.

Walked back home for around 15-20 mts.
Walking down Murray Avenue until Wilkins Avenue and then Wightman Street.
Was great. Silence except for the occasional cars.

Then there was the icecream in my hands and my IPOD blaring my favorite songs
across tamil,english and hindi.

Was just living for the moment.not a care in the world.
didnt matter if i was jobless, assignments to do, whether i would
be alive in the next moment.

i drank in the moment .... the cool night air, the soft music from my ipod,
darkness with occasional lighting by the street lights, the beautiful trees,
the pavement, slopes of the streets of pittsburgh......and of course, every scoop
of cold stone ice cream melting in my mouth. my mind didnt think of anything else
except i just have to blog this. Walking rocks!!!!

Peace

2006-09-01T22:00:00.000-04:00

Peace!!!! Millions spend eons seeking you
Alas! Only an enlightened few find you
You are everywhere and yet nowhere
You are nowhere and yet everywhere

Peace ? Nations seek unsuccessfully for ages.
But You are supposed to be in Saints and Sages.
You are like an elusive damsel creating distress
where you are not. You are but an unfaithful mistress.

Yet,one can find you in the greatest of turmoils.
How ? Where ? When ? Whom ? it all comes to boil.
Within yourself, in silence , Within god, some say.
Others say, within nature. You shall come one day.

Until then, millions spend eons seeking you
Alas! Only an enlightened few find you
You are everywhere and yet nowhere
You are nowhere and yet everywhere

Visaka Buddha

2006-09-01T21:54:00.000-04:00

Why the name Visaka Buddha ?

Merely because I was born in the star of Visaka just like Prince Siddhartha a.k.a gautama buddha was.
What do I share with him ?
Though definitely not wise as him, there is some in me. but it just does not seem to
work out.
like him, i guess I am kinda a lonely person.
lots of ppl around me.but still lonely.

guess i always have been like that. surrounded by lots of ppl
who are attracted by irresistible charm ;-).
but always felt lonely. maybe with very few ppl i felt at home.

maybe buddha wasnt like that.

I like Buddha very much. Thats another reason.

now you kinda understand the gist. Don't ya ?

Education in U.S

2006-09-01T21:29:00.000-04:00

i received an email from a junior in college(undergrad- Sriram Engg College)
about how life is in grad school in U.S.

Just thought i would blog it so ppl can read it. this is a rushed opinion and
by no means comprehensive.

Here, you need to work out things yourselves. some proffs are very good,
some are ok.some are very boring.

i literally slept through 99% of my UG classes except for a few classes esp maths.

however, here proffs dont talk much from the book. atleast they try not to vomit from the textbooks.

they apply industrial problems, current trends and ask us to apply the concepts.

assignments and homework are crucial and essential for good grades ( i never did a single HW /assignment in UG simply becos u just had to vomit from the text book).
and u just cant copy things from a text book. read the concepts throughly, do some research, do some extrapolation/intrapolation, bang ur head on the table sometimes,
nightouts,.... then by a miracle u complete the assignments esp finance.

class is beautiful. students from such diverse backgrounds, ethinicity. i feel
i am sitting in earth scaled down to a class. learning so much about cultures, people. it is beautiful.

what else, of course, the parties, since i am tepper school of business, ( but i am doing a m.S not m.b.a), lot of networking events..parties where u get food ( sometimes free), beer (ditto) where the aim is not to hog but to converse and establish rapport.

its fun and real hard work combined..
i am in accelerated degree where i need to finish the degree in 1.5 years ( 3 semesters plus 1 internship). so really hectic.

gtg... time rushes by...

Orientation- CMU

2006-09-01T21:20:00.000-04:00

orientation at CMU was fun.
First there was the internation student orientation starting from
Aug 15, then there was the grad student orientation for 1-2 days.

Tepper school of business orientation was for a week!!!!!

Orientation was really fun. Lots of activities, beer, free food.
Met so many diverse people within such a short time.
So cool. people from bulgaria, russia, countries from europe,africa,
asia,south america.......

radical. i really love this.

Finally, my dream has come true.

thrice I have applied for Master's degree in science...
twice though I got it, i did not take it. not to mention
enrolling into a part time degree which I loathed.
third time however, i just take it with all my heart and soul.

had to work so hard each time, get it and finally lose it from some silly
reason mostly becos of ppl who dont have courage.
third time, i am so happy. i feel content to a great extent.
but i feel the struggle to get here has been so intense that
it has literally sapped my mental energies.

wished i had joined sooner when i was in my prime.
sometimes feel so dull. hopefully should
rejuvenate soon.

struggled so much for this.can't giveup now. can i ?

finance- should definitely get the hang of it.
not like computer science which i almost have in my
blood.

Liberation - D Day --- Independence

2006-09-01T21:14:00.000-04:00

Aug 15,2006: A red letter day for me.
I was liberated from the IT profession hopefully.
Phew!! Independence from senseless slogging and slavish
working for nothing.
Maybe millions in India clamour for it and maybe I did
clamour for it once.
but now for the last few months, I was barely able to
withstand staying. on Aug 14,my last day, i literally could nt
wait.
however, i was sad to leave my company ,Cognizant.
Lots of personal history. first job.
so many achievements, personal downfall and then surge to the
top....... hmmmm. life goes on.
Got my admission into Carnegie Mellon University -
Tepper School of Business - Master's in Computational Finance.
http://business.tepper.cmu.edu/default.aspx?id=141030

hip!! hip!! hurray!!!!!!!
magical moment!!!

Farewell to MIS

2006-05-18T19:49:00.000-04:00

ASAP @MIS
=================

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! O Noble Patrons!
I am leaving all and sundry in MIS,
Suddenly, am feeling somethin amiss,

Sandeep called me to do a project ASAP,
Adding a lot of services that ACT,
Doing things as a matter of FACT,

Of course,I had to be very SMART,
since I had a tall order to be FAST,
Well, I literally screamed "PWI"....
before Kalyan could say "AVM"

Gone are the days of ridgefield park
Where Anna threw light in the dark
More features added by pascal & dan
Shocked,Radha & I almost got a Tan

Well, Vignesh breezed through the communication
With Mahitha working in coordination
All is well that ends well
though we ran pell mell

A day, All ran helter-skelter onto Jersey City
Where the DBAs and Networks are very witty
Wang and I were monitoring mailbox support
for business to build with clients a better rapport

Lo! behold! Was running for middleware
lest Hema or Nataraj should be aware
Kiran & I - desperate for service centers
Along comes smiling Susan whom I pester

But, nothing gold can stay
Alas,my friends, Am going away

I wrote the above poem as a farewell present to MIS.
The people mentioned were real life personalities.
ACT,FACT,SMART,ASAP,PWI were applications in MIS.

This is one of my earliest attempts at poetry after middle school.

Loneliness

2006-05-17T23:06:00.000-04:00

As it creeps on me, shatters me does loneliness
My heart aches with desolation and emptiness

A million voices and noises surround me like a moat
Yet all i feel is an isolation which I can't surmount
I am but a stranger in the land of good friends
the pain and anger seem to be my only fiends

As it creeps on me, shatters me does loneliness
My heart aches with desolation and emptiness

What do I seek ? The elusive nirvana !
My soul is gripped by this quest ! Oh the drama.
My foes suddenly seem to be my greatest allies
Challenging and occupying my thoughts with their malice

As it creeps on me, shatters me does loneliness
My heart aches with desolation and emptiness

Will my misery soon end ?
before I go around the bend.
the day will come , all shall end
until then, my thoughts shall merely contend

As it creeps on me, shatters me does loneliness
My heart aches with desolation and emptiness