No place to sleep.

Well, GRE material seems to be having the better of my bed! With so much material, I hardly had place to sleep…

PS: This image is just an indication of the mess that I am making and not of the amount of study I am doing for the GRE

An ideal breakfast

Well, since I am too lazy to write, I thought would put in a pic atleast… Breakfast courtesy Maa, Anda full fry recipe courtesy Aditya

On a study break

Well, I happen to blog after more than a month and exactly a year and a day since my fateful visit to D OAK Academy. My GRE is on 28th July, postponed once. Preparations are on and hence no time even to come online let alone blog. I will be back blogging once GRE is over…

Summing it up

I have been very busy and very lazy over the past few weeks. One of its important consequences being that I was not at all particular writing my blog. Sincerely, I missed writing. And so I am writing on Monday, rather than on a particularly wasted weekend.

The weekend holiday kicked off in German style with me spending almost an hour and a half washing my bike. With no laptop, I could hardly study. Then came the IPL shock. Chennai lost to Royals in a thriller match. It went to the wire, and just the last over made all the difference. And then I rooted for Mumbai to win (So that Chennai could make it to the semis :P) but even they lost.

Sunday was a lazy day. Saw an amazing Monaco Grand Prix with F-1 guru Aditya (pls write a long post on it so that i can conveniently link it here ). I was really annoyed at Kimi for spoiling Force India’s chances of an almost dream finish. Also felt really sad for Sutil. I believe for once, Malliya’s golden touch seems to have deserted him.

Also saw the marathi drama - Signal. I was the only one who kept on laughing! The review is here.

Sunday was a good food day. Punjabi in the morning and amazing Chicken, Pasta and Mango desert at Aditya’s place!

I had another verbal brawl.

Also played lot of AOE and a new game IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES, courtesy Aditya.

I remember that I did some GRE words.

Lots coming up in this week. IPL semi-finalists to be decided. Lots of cricket matches going on :P. French open beginning. It is my most watched Tennis tournament purely because of the time in the day i get to see it live.

I have got plenty of project work and also a Paper presentation coming up. Really enjoying my English class and trying to get rid of the ‘shtas and the shpas’ . Also have to see LOST, read H2g2 book 4, Shantaram. Also have some catching up to do with old friends.

Till the next blog, Cheerio!

PS Apologies for not updating the IPL pages. An update and detailed analysis is due after the completion along with detailed stats.

Just another post

I have been really busy the past few days and haven’t had time to blog much though have a lot to say! Hopefully I will be able to take out time this weekend.

P.S. This blog is intended for my own satisfaction. For the reader its value may be zero and he/she may skip it. Of course, if you have not stopped yet, you are as much free as I am busy.

Searching for rhyme

Well, I have never been much of a poet myself though many of my friends have come with their brilliant pieces. The reason for this I believe, lies in the type of poems I like i.e. ones with a good rhyme scheme. This poem here will be in contention for the universes worst poetry ever and will warrant a revision of the entry for the same in a future edition of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy which would normally run as:

“Vogon poetry is of course the third worst in the Universe.
The second worst is that of the Azagoths of Kria. During a recitation by their Poet Master Grunthos the Flatulent of his poem “Ode To A Small Lump of Green Putty I Found In My Armpit One Midsummer Morning” four of his audience died of internal haemorrhaging, and the President of the Mid-Galactic Arts Nobbling Council survived by gnawing one of his own legs off. Grunthos is reported to have been “disappointed” by the poem’s reception, and was about to embark on a reading of his twelve book epic entitled “My Favourite Bathtime Gurgles” when his own major intestine, in a desperate attempt to save life and civilization, leapt straight up through his neck and throttled his brain.
The very worst poetry of all perished along with its creator Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Greenbridge, Essex, England in the destruction …”

So here goes nothing:

Awake at 3oclock in the morning,

Coz something stupid went into my eye.

And this line is just here coz,

I found a rhyming word in ‘why’.

Rhyming words are what I never seem to have,

So I will put in “Bye, Bye Miss American Pie”

And because I love reading Agatha Christie,

I will put in “A pocketful of Rye”.

So, on this fateful and sleepless night,

as GRE words doing am I,

But Yoda would say “GRE words doing I am”

How did I think about him and I wonder why?

Was it then a coincidence yesterday,

that I should come across a lullaby,

Written by an Android, Paranoid he may be.

‘&’ that I heard “Zaphod just this guy…?

Was it also a coincidence then,

That I came across a pie chart of pie?

Or that I could answer a quiz question,

Concerning both Isaac Asimov and Helen of Troy?

Now as I look out of the window,

Into the not so dark and not so starry sky,

Never have I thought so many rhyming words,

How did I think about them and I wonder why?

Doesn’t any poet find rhyming words difficult,

Or to everyone do they easily come by?

And do they have choice to make,

Whether to rhyme with “bee” or with “buy”?

And perhaps I am inspired to write this,

After reading the blog of this limerick loving guy,

And/or after reading this short poem by another friend,

Who gave a lecture, which introduced me to the cricketer CB Fry.

Rhyming words I have thought of many,

They include dry, my, cry, try, die, lie, even fungi and rabbi,

How to put them into lines,

I will think, till then BBYE!

Now I will put down my pen,

The magnum opus complete and the mind rested.

I don’t think I will write again soon,

Till I have so much time to be invested.

Studying Psychrometry.

A double holiday before the next paper which is AMT, and I started studying Pyschrometry. On face value, it looks simple enough, just a few definitions, a few ratios and a solitary chart… However, when you get to the problems, it really begins to unravel itself. I started with book #1, decent author, understandable notations. Unfortunately, certain parameters seemed to have a mind of their own. They duplicated themselves, took on mysterious values whose source could not be detected, and appeared in formulas which were ‘*’ marked. * reads - For complete proof, read … article from … book! Also the book had no chart. Then came Book #2, with its wierd notations and pressure in mm Hg and a capital W for specific humidity (believe me that was irritating), which was rejected straight away. Then came Book #3, a recommended reference book, which had a chart. However, the numericals had values which went off chart limits and I had to confirm with a friend, on whether complete charts existed… So finally I learnt nothing. Using different book for problems, different steam tables and still different psychro charts meant i was never even close to the right answer! So friends, stay away from local author books and please refer good foreign author books!

Do check out the Wikipedia link on psychometry. Also, a comprehensive chart and a cool psychrometric calculator (for quick problem solving, it also works offline!) from the external links.

Topics for Paper Presentation: Mechanical Engg

Considering the large amount of searches for good paper presentation topics which people seem to be making, here are some which i have come across in recent reading. Also a list was put up in our college, i picked up a few interesting ones from them…

• Magnetic Refrigeration
• Modern Refrigeration Systems: Solar, Thermionic, Vortex Tube…
• Intelligent cars
• Formula 1 cars: Aerodynamics, Steering Wheel, Safety, Engines.
  
• ABS
• Electronic Stability Control
• Rocket Booster Systems
• Camless Engine
• 6 stroke engine
• Supply Chain Management
• CVT
• Latest Suspension Systems
• Sky Bus
• Pressure sensitive paint
• Stratified Charge Engine
• Exoskeleton for human performance augmentation
• Pistonless rocket Engine
  
• Ion Drive Engine
  
• Automated highway systems
  
• Variable timing Valve Trains (VTVT)
  
• Maglev
  
• Rocket Propulsion
  
• Adaptive Light patterns for Automobiles
  
• Robotic Vision
  
• Ramjet, Scramjet
  
• Negative Pressure Supercharging
  
• Fluidised Bed Combustion
  
• Tiptronic Gearbox
  
• Vacuum Heat Treatment of Materials
  
• Dry Ice Blasting
  
• Quasi Turbine Engines
• Airbus A380
• Aircraft navigation Systems
• Magnetorheological Fluids
• Smart materials
• Lean Burn Technology
• Catalytic Convertors

I will keep updating the list with new topics…

No pointless words here…

Well, after some recent posts of mine (pointless words) have brought in some heavy criticism from Abhishek, (especially over the word ‘lexeme’) , its time i justified the posts.

First of all, when I refer to any words as pointless, it essentially makes me the centre of reference. Also the pointless words here have been judged solely on whether I would be coming across the word in reading, using it myself or have a special encounter with it in the GRE. As such , most of the words i have put up in my post are justified.

Frankly speaking, it is a matter of taste. Some people may like excessively ornamented sentences, or others may insist upon the use of the right word for the occasion. Although I do enjoy such literary works (if and only if I have a dictionary at hand), I do believe in keeping my sentences simple. Also the use of complex terms for day to day words (e.g. for face, sneezing) irritates me!

And thanks to JR for coming to my rescue. In the particular case of the word ‘lexeme’, as he has rightly pointed out, a field specific word, so a someone from another field (read me) would hardly be expected to know / remember it! Same would be the case for a case involving two different fields( the reader and the word i.e.). I would not even want to mention medical terms in this regard (which is what, most probably, is the long word in JR’s post). Also , I must confess I had to constantly shift-rightclick ( the hotkey to my word web dictionary) while reading most of the posts, even google ‘brachylogy’ and ‘verbigeration’.

In my defence , as Abhiskek has heavily reprimanded me for hating to learn the new words, as also JR (we need more words..), I would like to say, I have always enjoyed learning new words and have always tried to employ some of them in day to day conversations (I have been frowned upon even for that!). Also the posts have been listed in the category ‘Words’ (since the beginning), meaning I intended to put some ‘meaningful’ posts there too.

Ironically, the ‘pointless words’ are what I seem to remember rather than more ‘meaningful words’ which has prompted me to open up this category. It seems if I post a word, I seem to recollect it easily. So one might expect some meaningful words there. An effort has to be made on my part to put up posts which would distinguish the finer tints in similar meaning words, as also include words with radically different double meanings. An excellent example is:

tattoo:

1. The practice of making a design on the skin by pricking and staining (the well known)

2. A drumbeat or bugle call that signals the military to return to their quarters (the lesser known)

Now how did people come to name them like that?!

N also I am waiting to what the other boy has to say about it.

Records from the Dark Ages.

Huh! Writing a post after almost a gap of twenty days! Kind of a dark age for me. Cant say really whether I missed blogging or not, actually was too busy with college submissions and other activities that I was hardly online in the last three weeks. Also the endless chatter and discussions that I have managed to be a part of, have made up for it! Well as usual so much to write about and so little time. I think I just have time to list the topics that I would have liked to blog about!

India – RSA test series: A brilliant knock from Sehwag (319) in the first test, the dramatic 76 all out in the second and the much needed win in the third. This is what sums up the series for me. Ganguly played well in last two tests. With Neo sports not available, it meant I did not see even one live ball of the series and had to rely on web n mobile for the scores. It was irritating. Anyways I am glad the series ended on a winning note. Though I believe that India did not play their best cricket, we have managed to hold on to 2^nd place in ICC rankings.

IPL n ICL: Well after all the media attention and screen time it has grabbed, IPL will be finally kicking off on 18^th. I am supporting the Chennai team and am thinking of putting up a detailed post on it. Also wathced some ICL matches and thought they were really entertaining. Also witnessed a bowl-out in ICL, its always fun! Hopefully IPL will live up to its hype…

F-1: Force India have been continuously improved their performance, with Fisichella mauling 12^th place and Sutil completing the race FI can start thinking of actually collecting some vital points by then end of the season. Hamilton had a bad race, Ferrari showing again who’s the boss and BMW competing brilliantly.

Football: Last night watched Man U- Arsenal. The devils silenced the gunners with a 2-1 win. Lots of great matches coming up both in EPL and Champions League, and I am planning to watch some of them.

Movies, TV, Books: Well moving on from sports… Saw Music n Lyrics, Employee of the Month, Yours, Mine and Ours, 1984, Longitude, Genghis Khan and plenty of LOST episodes. Enjoyed every moment! Also some silly Youngistan ads faced with a brilliant parody from Sprite! Read excerpts from 1984 after seeing the movie. Also continued with Shantaram. Really irritated by news channels while waiting for match score.

Engg n College: Would not like to talk much about submissions n vivas. Have the BAJA team interview today. I was busy in preparing for it with endless discussions on ppts. I also attended the ‘Senate’ meetings in college. Really enjoyed it. Also sat for atleast 20-30 hours on autocad doing sheets and wrote almost 200 odd pages of submissions! Also gave a stupid EDCS test paper which I must post about separately.

Had the first mango of the season! Delicious! Also went on tekdi couple of times…

Looking Forward to: Exam getting over quickly. Next f-1 race. IPL, football, lots of books n movies, Lost season 4, project in college, back to quizzing, GRE studies, accent training, baja competition, placements, hanging out with friends, a short trip and (if possible) some days of peace and rest! Will be posting about exams soon!