Yatri (Traveller)

मंजिलें तोह मिल ही जाएँगी, भटक कर ही सही

गुमराह तो वोह है जो घर से निकले ही नहीं

-   Shivani Raina Facebook Feed.

From Homeless to Harvard

I am just moved by this movie called From Homeless to Harvard. It talks about Liz Murray, child to drug addicted parents and homeless but determined. She changed her life from nothing to something.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Murray

It is just big dream and she is perfect example of "Nothing is Impossible if you work Hard".

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

For past few days I was going downhill with my studies. Not focusing right. Loosing the big goal. All this because I didn't do right in one mid-term paper. Before that, I was all charged up ready to take on the world but later that incident, things changed. I started sleeping late, under utilizing my time and was thinking of easy aims and finding fault with US education system(Will talk about it in detail sometime later).

I spoke to him few minutes ago and explained him my situation. He said, If subject XYZ is causing all the pain and making you loose focus, let it go to waste. Don't let one subject ruin your aspiration and life. He gave eg. of a painter (He himself is a wonderful cartoonist), and said, "In Painting, if you are painting one with utmost care but happen to make one mistake, it ruin your all hard work and many a times people just give up because of this failure. Let this not happen to you. You should not get discouraged with one subject but you should keep working towards other subjects and do well in them". He said, if I could cross the threshold and get admission to MIT/Harvard/Stanford for my PhD., my life will become wonderful and worthwhile. Also, I should not entertain the thoughts of "Should I really do PhD?" but do all my preparation as though I really want to be at such elite university for my PhD and then I will see the difference of attitude.

America could be a lonely place for someone who comes from country like India where there are social linkages even between neighbors and you could just go to them and talk without being bothered of invading personal space. There are times I miss such wonderful friends who would just know what I need when I am down. As said, I have some true friends indeed.

Good Night.

Left high paying MNC Job for Civil Service Exam Preparation

A friend of mine recently left high paying job in an MNC with annual salary more than INR 10 Lakh (approx USD 25K), which is quite high as per Indian Standard to pursue his goal of serving society by appearing in India's one of most tough civil services exam. He has taken a big leap of faith and confidence. I know his journey is not going to be easy but I wish him good luck in all he does. Over the chat I asked how he feels about his decision and he says "

i m happy dude, no regrets"

He inspires me. He tell me what it means to follow your heart. He gives me strength to follow mine. I promised him that I will make him proud one day too by accomplishing something worthwhile in life. Remember, I am still toiling with the Idea of PhD/Startup after MS. I need to make a good choice for myself and do something worthwhile.

To have such friends who gives you strength to aim high is a blessing and I am few blessed ones. My best wishes to my dear friend and pray all his tough times don't last long and his effort pays off well.

Unstoppable

If your dog doesn't get the bone you are hanging high enough for him to get, chances are he will loose interest and stray away. Contrary to this, if a man is faced with a similar challenge, he can innovate/improve upon his strategy and try a little more long. .....Hmm..I just lost my train of thoughts after the guy in the lab started howling. I will still go ahead and post it as I think I still have a point.

Fire : It can be Controlled.

I got to share with you all some wonderful research done by one of my friend and his research group at UMASS Lowell titled "Non-Toxic Flame Retardants". It has to do with inventing new coating substance which retards the spread of fire and even prevent burning. US Army has shown keen interest to this project. The coating is made using organic waste. I am excited about his research and may even get you more details after talking to him but at the moment I would urge you all to go to the site and post comments/feedback and spread the word. It is crucial that large number of people know about it to create momentum for its fruition.

Thank You.

Connecting the future dots

Remember me talking about connecting dots in general and connecting the future dots and how sometimes I have intuition about what's going to happen next by looking at what's happening today. Well I just had a moment yesterday which I would like to share.

For past one year, I am struggling with a questions, "Should I pursue PhD and become Professor after MS or should I start a business after MS?". I am exploring each of these two options by talking with Professors, reading about latest research, and by participating in forthcoming Boston Startup Weekend etc. Yesterday I just happen to attend a technical colloquium at my Computer Science Department on topic based on Forensic analysis of P2P system for Child Pornography. It was interesting topic and the speaker Swagatika Prusty presented it well and handled the questions clearly. I liked it. I learned something new. After the presentation, the usual practice of few audiences forming a circle around the speaker and participating in the discussion happened and I joined the league. There were random topics mostly concentrated around what was presented and then we moved on to career. One from the audience was a Professor from my department and asked the speaker (which if you have noticed is only a second year Master's student at UMASS Amherst) whether she would like to pursue PhD? To which she responded that she is yet not decided but would prefer to be a doctorate student only to be interrupted by the Professor "unless you land a fat paying job" to everyone's humor. Then he spoke about his life, how he was in Israeli army at young age, then went on to start a business where he made good money and told his mother that he doesn't see why he should attend college considering he is already earning quite well. To which her mother responded "You are stupid" which mentally tormented him and he joined college obtaining his bachelors degree and realized that "it is so much fun" and enrolled for Masters degree which again he realized "This is so much fun" and rest all is history.

Now, the story part is over. Next phase that went into my head is, why is the professor speaking about his career decisions, why did I meet another student who is in dilemma of doing PhD or not, why am I here amongst all the infinite possibility and how come each of these things are happening when I am suppose to go for a startup event on coming weekend. Well, Steve Jobs said you can connect the dots by only looking backward and he is absolutely right because connecting the future dots is only probabilistic in nature. Getting obsessed about connecting future dots can make someone dogmatic but I would recommend that he/she should just take it as some form of information and continue doing their daily routines and when the final day of making a choice comes, use these pointers along with regular pros & cons rationality. Making future look like the way you want will disturb the natural order making the future connections only fraud.

Do share your story if you happen to experience the same.

Have a wonderful future

Amit

P.S. I feel so relaxed after writing this topic because I was waiting for a long time for an event to happen naturally where I can make future connections and talk to my readers about it.

How to be smart.

"It's not that I'm so smart , it's just that I stay with problems longer." Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Steve Jobs , The Entrepreneur.

At this moment, I have a mixed feeling because I am extremely sad for demise of Steve Jobs. He has taught me valuable lessons of life through his Stanford Commencement Speech.

He was a great entrepreneur, someone whom I listened live or heard in my life span. He will be remembered by millions.

The second feeling I have today is of accomplishment. I am able to execute a program for which I have been working for more than 1 month as part of my college assignment in Operating System Graduate Course at UMASS Lowell. The Professor has been kind enough to give me flexibility and not penalize me heavily for delay of 2 weeks which I have already done. I made lot of mistakes, I asked for help at places I couldn't find a way out but I kept trying just to make sure I learn in the honest way.

I give credit to my today's success to Steve Jobs  for lessons in perseverance.

Thank You Steve. May you rest in peace.

Randomness

Right now, I have an assignment to choose 1 out of first 15 sections in the book of "The Society of Mind" by Marvin Minsky and write a one page summary of it as homework assignment for Artificial Intelligence Course in my graduate studies.

Since it was not an easy choice where all parts are good topics, I decided to generate a random number using RANDOM.org website between 1 to 15. It may sound lot of unnecessary work for just a number but if you might have faced or heard that some of the best things happens by chance and I thought that if I choose a random chapter rather than going by my bias, it will give me an opportunity to explore something new and who knows it might hold my attention for entire life. 

The stage is set.

Get Set Go.

So my random number is 11 and so it is. The section name is "The Shape of Space". Wow, I surely wouldn't have picked this one thinking "What has space got to do with Artificial Intelligence?". Let's see how it works out. Don't let too much intelligence ruin the chance of discovering something new by loosening yourself and giving randomness a chance.

Have  Nice Weekend.
Cheers.

Quote Unquote

A quote from my senior colleague while at Fidelity Investment
"Fire is fire.. there is no small or big in it. As long as it is alive, when the conditions are ripe, it'd burn down even a great forest"

Vasu Palaniandi

Why MS?

1. To make the better use of my life than being in IT.
2. To contribute to society in my capacity.

She is not unknown to me anymore

Things have changed tonight. Tonight I no more was watching her from far and thinking what is it she made of and what does she think about me. We danced together, romanced and spoke few words. The moments of togetherness calmed my eagerness to know her for years together. Painfully we parted but I know it was for good.

I love you Mac

Its been just few days(Got on 8/26, today is 08/29) since I got my first apple product Apple MacBook Pro and I am already loving it. Couple of things makes it amazingly wonderful.

1. Mac OS is a Linux Flavor which makes it virus free and fast. I always wanted to move out of Windows due to its pricing and too much control over user.

2. MacBook Pro is no nonsense system. It doesnt even have unnecessary stickers of Intel Processor/Graphics Card/Apple either.

3. There is a unknown territory (Mac Commands Vs. Windows) and requires few days of learning but after that it is smooth ride. Online reference will help you get started quickly.

4. People who worry about softwares which comes only with Windows installer, look harder for Mac and you should be able to find one. Between MS Office is available for Mac OS too or you can choose OpenOffice to do your Word/Excel/Visio task at zero cost.

5. You dont have to shut down your system completely. Just close the lid and it goes into sleep mode which saves your battery more than Windows sleep. It is safe till now.

6. The power adapter is bidirectional which helps in accommodating to any situation and not struggle with it.

7. Display is very good. Processor is fast and dude you dont have to worry about unnecessary software notifications. Mac OS takes care for you that.

The list is good enough for anyone to be convinced. I just trusted one of my close friend's advise.

Take Care
Amit

Tim Cook's Speech

Good One:-

http://www.fastcompany.com/1776338/tim-cook-apple-ceo-auburn-commencement-speech-2010-transcript

US F1 VISA Interview at Chennai Consulate

"I have my US Visa interview today at 7:30 am. Its midnight and am eagerly waiting. Though I am not much worried but normal anxiety do exist. God, help me as you always did to pass this hurdle too. Gn"

After years of preparation for my Masters studies and having secured admission and done with running around for Bank Loan, it was Visa that was left in the end. You may be going to Standford after all the pain but if the Visa Officer see that you are not right fit, he can hold you down and your aspiration by a simple "NO". Hence, unless you are through VISA, it is still like a sword hanging around your neck. It means a lot specially to the ones who are genuine seeker than to those who are looking it as an opportunity to migrate to USA.

My visa was scheduled for 27th June at 7:30 am in Chennai. I reached the office at around 6 a.m. since I was traveling from Bangalore and reached Chennai early morning at 5. I waited for my turn when I could see other aspirants joining in with their files and some along with their parents. It was getting hotter and I could wish I leave asap back to Bangalore.

The security guard signaled for 7:30 a.m batch and I moved along with others. To my surprise I was not allowed to submit my bag because it had wheels in it. I was furious and got further anxious when I couldn't find any other place to secure my bag. Well, I must say "You gotta money in your pocket, you got a way out of trouble". Looks like someone sensed my trouble and offered me a place to secure my bag though he charged me 10 times of what get charged officially. I was in need and with no choice. I concurred.

After taking my token for VISA Interview and security checkups I waited for a while. Since I was early bird, I was still kept waiting since the random number calling still didn't see me. I thought, someone behind the monitor is playing with those numbers and making sure I don't come soon. Anyways, my turn came as a big relief and I swiftly moved to the queue where I was supposed to be interviewed.

I was asked general questions which I answered well and confidently. I could see I was going good and when the final words "Your Visa is approved" came, my hearts knew no bounds. I was elated. Took hold of my documents and marched quickly out of the office lest the VO changes his mind and call me back.

I could now connect the dots of the past where I was preparing for GRE, leaving my job and travel with family. Thank you Steve Jobs for this wonderful lesson.

Cheers,

Amit

P.S. For those keen on knowing what questions I was asked, I would say you may look into popular sites like Edulix etc for probable questions asked.

For those who want to know how to prepare for VI, I have got few suggestions.

1. Get your documents straight. I saw two candidates with missing documents and getting their VISA rejected. Though they tried hard to find in the folder they were carrying but hard luck.

2. Be Honest. Somewhere I read, only if you are honest can you be confident. Being Confident is key to clearing the interview. If you are not, you are unlikely to get through.

3. Be Calm and positive throughout.

I am Android

I am new member of Android family.  Someone welcome me or I will do so myself.

What is Indianism?

Indianness is not about the country you are born in, or the country you migrate to, it's about your identity and emphasis towards discipline, hard-work, honesty and continuous learning. The values that hold true towards tolerance, and focus on intellectual and spiritual growth. It's your ability to be a global citizen embracing diversity, and believing in peace without prejudices of language, color or skills and abilities. 

Harsha G Goolya

Its time I write about my first USA trip

10/08/2011

I am sitting outside Fox Hall building, walking around UML Campus. I must say, its beautiful but due to summer break its a lonely place. I look around and I feel that I have made right choice. This place gives me one more opportunity to make a great life and nothing stops me. The college has not started yet but I hope it will be equally satisfying experience.


I must say USofA is not as fancy as I thought it to be sitting in India. People over here are same as people at other places with habits & problems. Not every passerby greets you, there are dirty homes, people do misuse benefits etc. But on the other hand, people are polite and cars stops for pedestrians. Everyone is on car. I thought I will be amazed by the various car models and housing but the rapid economic growth in India has equally matched with what USofA has in their streets and their homes.

Oh yes, there is one great news. There is just no air pollution & weather in summer is moderate. There were times I laughed at myself for letting go the easy life I had as an IT professional in Bangalore and choosing this new life of student where I am struggling to find a house, a phone, food to eat & jobless. I know this is just initial hiccups which one experiences due to country and cultural change. Lot of things work opposite here but I will surely adapt. This is one golden opportunity (sun is shinning very bright at the moment) & I will make the best out of it. God help me remain focused & calm.

P.S. Just wanted to add, TV is surely an idiot box here. People talk about cat rescue (I know they have started this in India too), material buying & loads of nonsense go around television. I feel it is important to be away from TV and focus on work & actual social participation. USofA has culture of Capitalism and it promotes more buying. People buy more than what they need. For eg. If I need one towel, there will be an offer where a set of four will be a more reasonable choice than just one. Anyways, I accept this country as it is as each one is different. There are loopholes in my understanding which I am sure will get filled in the days to come where I will learn more and I will come back with updated views.

This looks so right

Today I updated my profile in Linkedin as my new Title is "Graduate Student, Computer Science Department at UMass Lowell" and the first thing I felt about this new chapter of my life is"This looks so right". I was waiting for this for long and surely time has its own sweetness. I felt, "I am at the right place and I need to make the best of it". God give me strength.

Thanks to all my family and my friends who stood by me in difficult times and I share my future success with them.

Take Care all.