Chinmaya Dave's Blog

Cricket World Cup 2011: What it means to India?

2011-04-03T13:22:00.001+05:30

Alright..... since now we have won and the celebrations have (just) started, the Indian Team Fan can stop bleeding blue a bit now (until the next ODI). We are now number ONE in all formats: T20, ODI and Test Cricket.

All I can say now is: Savor the moment !!! This is a moment that a generation will be proud of (and will 'Like' any FB page saying 'I was alive when....'). A moment that we all were dying for. A moment that is inexpressible !!!

This is Team India for you. A team that was fighting to get the right formation of team members, find its form, and above all win its fans' belief. Self-doubt was always a problem. Will our bowling work or not? What if Sehwag & Sachin don't fire? But what mattered most, in Dhoni's words was, "....gaining the right momentum at the right time". Sachin's dream has finally come true. "It's never too late" said the elated Little Master. 4 players from this country have played 2 World Cup Finals: Sehwag, Sachin, Zaheer and Harbhajan. They faltered in 2003. 2011 wasn't supposed to be a re-telecast.

We Indians have the habit of losing-it-all when it matters the most. This victory gives us a sense of self-belief (as Dhoni had when he came at No. 4) and know what it takes to bring the change. In any game, factors like team work, support from the staff, a brilliant Coach (thanks Gary) etc. - are crucial. This team was not an exception. What we can learn from this dream run are lessons that might become the next MBA classroom discussions. Giving your 100% (Every Men in Blue did it), taking risks (Dhoni), never back down (Yuvraj) - there are plenty of examples now.

The party has just begin for us, and so the gifts and awards for Team India. All we can do now is watch this video which depicts the proudest moment of 1.21 billion people.

P.S: I couldn't celebrate much as I was alone in my flat in Mumbai. Missed friends and family. And.... we won't see any more 'Doosra' from Murali now. : (

Climate Change And Politics

2010-08-25T21:40:00.000+05:30

How climate science is dividing people on political lines?

"Action on climate change is a conspiracy to create a Communist World Government."

- Lord Monckton, Hard-Right U.K. Independence Party Leader

One can only laugh at such a statement, given the fact that the Western World tries to act as the flag bearer of the Go-Green campaign. Rather, they should learn from Jairam Ramesh, who denied the Vedanta Project in Orissa, which had some serious environmental concerns. Mr. Ramesh could have cleared the project, gaining back the State Government (which initially approved the project) support and much more.

The situation in Australia is the most critical and deposing for Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, after they have failed to act right on the carbon trade politics, and deferring the climate benefit policies. Australia is one of the World's worst anti-Green nation (with U.S.A ofcourse), and has been hammered a lot by floods, droughts and forest fires. With the change in the political scene, the deniers of climate change are finally accepting the facts, but only due to the political factor, and in their ideology. On the same lines, many European Governments are also facing the heat.

One of the factors of the Obama's successful presidential run was that he understood the crux behind the climate change. When Mr. Bush had already staked too many dollars in the Iraq Oil game, Obama seemed a better choice for the already recessioned Americans.

In Gujarat, Narendra Modi is being praised for running a fully functional Climate Change Deptt. - first of its kind in India. Is the Wild West hearing?

Climate change is a relatively new discovery, and thus will take some time to settle down in our belief system. But we cannot deny the fact that temperatures are rising and oceans are ready to create havoc in near future. Damn those who are denying this, just because their interests take precedence over their beliefs.

Hey, I do remember Copenhagen? :D

P.S: Please share, if you like this. : )

The TCS Story - From the beginning......

2010-05-18T01:10:00.009+05:30

4^th March. About 3:00 PM – The day when it started.

My phone rang several times before I noticed that there are 5 missed calls from my CAT coaching centre. I called back. The conversation started:

“Hello, Sir? Is it you?”

“Yes Chinmaya. Hey…. Why don’t you attend a GD-PI tomorrow in Jaipur. The college is not so great, but still you will get the stint of GD-PIs. The fee is also less.”

“But Sir, I am not at all prepared.”

“Don’t worry. You are just practicing before you take on the real ones.”

After some persuading and morale-boosting, I agreed to attend the GD-PI.

4^th March. 5:00 PM

I was already at the bus stand, buying ticket for a journey to Jaipur. Called my Home:

“Mummy, I am coming.”

“Arre waah…… achaanak. Great !!!”

“Arreeyyy……. It’s not so great. Anyways….. prepare the dinner. My balance is low. Bye bye.”

5^th March. 10:00 AM

Sitting in the air-conditioned conference hall of 3-star Jaipur Hotel, I was feeling like a timid kid, who somehow managed to reach the hotel, doesn’t know what he is doing in a GD, and simply wants to get out. But that Rs. 500 note asked me to sit and listen the crap the others were shouting.

After four long hours, the whole process got over. Finished the formalities, and took an auto for Home.

5^th March. 5:00 PM

“Mummy, I am not feeling well.”

“You must go to Dr.Mittal immediately. See, how thin you have become. Oh my God !!! Don’t you take food in Ajmer.”

Few hours later, I was already at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and knew that this is going to go worse.

10^th March

It felt almost like a month sitting in the bed and reading newspapers and old magazines. Pretty much sure that nothing fruitful is going on in college; I kind of started liking my stay in Jaipur.

But then, Life is not so easy, especially for engineers : P. So there came a letter about a GD-PI call of an MBA college in Ahmedabad (College is in Noida, Ahmedabad was just the centre). After a week, finally there was something to do !!!

12^th March, Evening

Failing in shifting the centre or postponing the GD-PI call, I had to leave for Ahmedabad. All the stories of my illness and my-documents-are-in-Ajmer seemed worthless on the numerous phone calls I made to the college’s admission office.

At 8:00 PM finally, the bus began its journey. The funny part of these buses is the movies they play on the LCD screens during the journey. I had to watch “Shivaji – The Boss”, starring Rajnikanth, as it was played on the maximum possible volume. As for the movie reviews, I can’t find words. God only knows what these South Indian directors want. After the crap was over, I was fast asleep.

At 2:00 AM, as my mobile vibrated, I woke up suddenly. Opened the flap and the screened showed:

6 missed calls - All from my roommate Pankaj.

1 unread message – “TCS coming . JECRC, Jaipur on 16. I will come ur home on 15. Happy journey”

Now this was like a bolt out of a clear sky kind of thing !!!! I was shocked, pleased, happy and furious at the same time. Knowing that all guys must be preparing for the recruitment process, I felt like a dumb-ass who is going to attend a GD-PI call, even when he knows that he isn’t going to convert it.

I didn’t sleep for the whole night after that.

14^th March, 10:00 AM

Time for attending the actual GD-PI call. Same process – documents check, essay writing, PI etc. One long tiring day. Came out of the centre at 4:00 PM. Screwed up everything I could.

The next evening, I took bus for going back to Jaipur again. And why shouldn’t I? After all, TCS was coming, and I am a dumb-ass.

What I learnt from my Ahmedabad experience: College campuses are much better in Gujarat than in Rajasthan.

15^th March, 8:00 PM

C, C++, DBMS, Norman Lewis, Barron’s GRE – All of them were lying on my bed. Fresh and intact. Just the way they I purchased them. Pankaj had come to my Home, and bought the books with him as I had ask him before leaving Ajmer.

I looked at the wall clock. “12 hours later I have to reach JECRC.” I thought. What the heck !!! I closed all the books and put them in the cupboard. Played NFS Most Wanted for one hour, checked my Facebook status, and went to sleep.

16^th March, 8:00 PM sharp

Looking your friends in shirt-pants and formals, who you are looking in payjamas for the past four years, feels comical. After three hours of wait, we were finally given entrance to the computer-automated aptitude test lab. Without going into much details, let me tell you the schedule:

11:00 AM – Computer based aptitude test. This was the biggest surprise !!!

3:00 PM – Technical interview. The interviewer, after 40 minutes, proved that I know nothing and I am a worthless creature on this planet.

5:00 PM – MR interview. The first question was: 82 in X, 72 in XII, 62 in engineering. Why Chinmaya?

7:00 PM – HR interview. Was like meeting an old friend and having my career path discussion. Enjoyed.

Took a bus for returning Home at 7:30 PM. Dinner and straight to sleep.

Woke up at 6 in the morning. After that, till 11:14 PM of 18^th March 2010, each second was like a lifetime.

18^th March, 11:15 PM

My phone rang, and showed ‘Anuj Khandelwal caliling…’.

My heart skipped a beat. After hearing some poor jokes, he finally told me that we (both me and Anuj) have made it. Confirmed the news with my branch’s placement coordinator.

After that, it was bliss. We know the rest. The feeling, the temple visits, the status updates etc.

“Yes, I finally made it.” I told myself at 4:00 AM, before going to sleep.

25^th March

Returned back to Ajmer. The inter-college quiz preparation began (see one of the previous post on Inter-college quiz). After 5 days, we were done. Everything went on fine.

30^th March

Gave party to my dearest friends in engineering: Amratansh (Golu), Arpit Mathur, Pankaj Kumawat, Mithlesh, Prashant Kulwal (Nawab Sahab), Keshav (Chaini), Krishan Kumar Shekhawat (Krrish), Raghvendra (Raghu bhaiya), Anuj Mehra (Bidibaaj), Deepak Sharma (Chabra), Atul Agarwal (Ganja).

15^th May

Celebrated with my fellow college mates who too were selected in TCS. 20 were present out of 25. Enjoyed. Danced. Dinner. Late night talks. Awesome !!!

Today, after posting this blog, the story will get over. I would like to thank the Almighty, my Family, all of my friends who supported me, and at last the technical interviewer (I still don't know what was on his mind).

Thanks for reading. I am at peace (and gaming) now.

Guilty or Innocent Tag

2010-05-03T08:18:00.000+05:30

Thanks to Nipun a.k.a Nuts for tagging me again. Would also like to congratulate him on the passing of the official "Govt. Engg. College, Ajmer Newsletter". Wish we reach the highs we dreamed of !!!!
As for now, both Nipun and me are waiting (desperately) for engineering to get over...... and start our (hopefully promising) career.

Like my previous posts, I won't blurt out too much....... or things may go awry........ heheee.......... here goes the tag:

The rules goes like this:

RULE 1- You can only say Guilty or Innocent.

RULE 2- You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you and asks!

RULE 3- Copy and paste this into your notes, delete my answers, type in your answers and tag to your friends to answer this.

Asked someone to marry you? Guilty

Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Innocent

Danced on a table in a bar? Guilty

Ever told a lie? Guilty

Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have back? Guilty

Kissed a picture? Guilty

Slept in until 5 PM? Innocent

Fallen asleep at work/school? Guilty

Held a snake? Innocent

Been suspended from school? Innocent

Worked at a fast food restaurant? Innocent

Stolen from a store? Guilty

Been fired from a job? Innocent

Done something you regret? Guilty

Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Guilty

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Innocent

Kissed in the rain? Innocent

Sat on a roof top? Guilty

Kissed someone you shouldn't? Innocent

Sang in the shower? Guilty

Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Guilty

Shaved your head? Innocent

Had a boxing membership? Innocent

Made a girlfriend cry? Innocent

Been in a band? Guilty

Shot a gun? Guilty

Donated Blood? Innocent

Eaten alligator meat? Innocent

Eaten cheesecake? Guilty

Still love someone you shouldn’t? Guilty

Have/had a tattoo? Innocent

Liked someone, but will never tell who? Guilty

Been too honest? Guilty

Ruined a surprise? Guilty

Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you couldn’t walk afterward? Guilty

Erased someone in your friends list? Guilty

Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? Guilty

Joined a pageant? Innocent

Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Guilty

Had communication with your ex? Innocent

Got totally drunk on the night before exam? Innocent

Got totally angry that you cried so hard? Innocent

Whooppss !!!!!

That was just a ten minute job...... but it was fun !!!

And as the tradition goes, I would like to forward this tag to:

1. Sattu
2. Ram
3. Naman
4. Raghvendra

Madhu seems already tagged too many times..... heheeee.....

Hope you guys do it soon.

Inter-college quiz and me.

2010-04-27T17:05:00.001+05:30

For those who know about the inter-college quiz of Tarangini 2010, here is my experience. And those who don’t, well……… read on.

I always yearned to write about the only significant extra-curricular activity I did in my engineering. It has been one month since the ‘event’ took place, but the experience was, rather unanticipated, in almost every sense.

Things started by organizing the screening in the college itself. Thanks to Prateek Sharma, a junior, for doing a great job in preparing the screening paper. He organized a lot of things, which might not look important, but matter as much as the ‘big thing’ itself. He gave the screening paper to me and Raghvendra, and we reviewed it later.

The next day, the screening was held. For 45 minutes, 160+ students, in pairs, exercised their brains, which must have rusted, thanks to the rote-learning patterns of engineering. With 25 objective questions, and 15 questions in a crossword, we ensured that those 45 minutes were pure fun.

A day later, the screening results were put up on the notice board. 2 teams selected from the college.

Now the real challenge was to prepare the main quiz. Now everyone has seen quizzes. Remember those BQCs, school quizzes etc. Our aim was to innovate the standard pattern. No buzzers, no rapid-fires. And thus began the 4 day marathon effort to prepare the final presentation. Now, even we also don’t remember the number of websites visited, wikis questioned or pics downloaded during those 4 days. 5 rounds. 50 questions. Things worked out (and so our brains), and we did it without the last rush. Phew !!!

At last, the moment came to organize the final event. 2 other engineering colleges were also invited, making a total of 6 teams. As expected, problems occurred. Without going into much detail, all I can say is that if you want to see the event management at its worst, then you are most welcome to Govt. Engg. College, Ajmer. After a hour of hustle-bustle, finally we started. The response from the teachers and the students was the same as expected – BAD !!! The worst part was that the event was organized in a classroom, and not on the main stage.

Still, we did what we intended to, i.e. organize the event successfully. With Rs. 2100 as first prize, and Rs. 1100 as second prize, the winners were too joyful. Whoever saw the quiz, or came to know about it, gave positive reviews. At last, the job was done.

Overall event rating: 6 out of 10. Fair.

This post will be incomplete if I don’t mention the names of few helpful bastards. Here I go:
1.Raghvendra Sharma – This post will be too long if I write about him. In every sense awesome. Thank you Raghu bhaiya.

2. Prateek Sharma – For his indispensible help and suggestions, right from the beginning to the last moment (returning the last mic to the electric man), and hosting the quiz. Thanks dude !!!

3. Anuj Mehra – For his poor jokes, his late arrivals at my room, and noticing all the nice girls present in the quiz. And for some serious stuff too. No need to say thanks to him (Because if I do, he will screw me for the rest of my life. :D ).

4. Manush Pareek – The future diplomat, for hosting the quiz, and helpful suggestions. Thanks a lot dear.

5. Pankaj and Mithlesh – It would be senseless if I write their names separately. Thanks to both, for their water and food supply services, jokes worse than those of Anuj. We know the rest. : )

Here's the link to a very informative and a great video showed to the audience before the quiz: http://goo.gl/eINM.

Thanks !!!!

Delicacy of Jaipuri Paan: I'm Lovin' It

2010-03-07T19:59:00.004+05:30

Paanwallahs have gone pro nowdays. This is how a Rs. 40 paan is given to a paan loving customer:

You don't buy a paan. You earn it.

And anyone interested in buying paan online, click here. Enjoy !!!

My perception towards Ajmer - Part I

2010-02-10T13:05:00.001+05:30

I've seen Ajmer unlike anyone. In this city of Khwaja and govt. offices, I have had experiences much varied in terms of learning about life and nearly everything else.

I hope that I could write something better in this series 'My perception towards Ajmer', and share my thoughts and life experiences. I don't know exactly from where should I start, but still, here I go.....

About a year ago, while returning back to my room from college, I met a guy from MCA in the college bus. He was from Delhi, so naturally was sulking about the shit he had to face here. When problems are same, people talk more easily. After some formal introduction, we, unsurprisingly, started comparing Kota (common birthplace) and Ajmer. What struck me was the way in which he explained as to how Ajmer has been a more or less a ‘political casualty’. There was a time when Ajmer and Kota were comparable.

The term ‘political casualty’ forced me to think. Yeah…. He was right. Ajmer might be a city with historical importance, but there is nothing more here than Dargah, Mayo and Pushkar. Geographically, it is surrounded with Aravalis, and this restricts any further cultural or commercial development. But what is ‘political’ about all this?

To be continued…… in part II.

Tagged for first time.....

2010-01-25T16:21:00.002+05:30

Hmmm..... so this guy, Nipun Mittal, tagged me for the first time.
Can't write much right now, hence I start right away with my answers for this so called Chinese Tag:

8 TV Shows/News Channels I Like To Watch:

  1. MTV Wassup !! - MTV.
   2. MTV What The Hack !! - MTV.
   3. Chitrahaar (Yes, it still comes.) - DD National.
   4. Megastructures - Discovery.
   5. Gizmo Freak - UTV.
   6. Samachar Plus - 2100 hrs DD News.
   7. Meaning Paan - 9XM.
   8. Xtreme Machines - Discovery.

8 Places To Eat And Dine:

  1. Kahna - Jaipur.
   2. Pizza Hut.
   3. Mc Donald's.
   4. Tadka - Jaipur.
   5. Swami Bakery - Ajmer (Yeah... a surprise entry. I know).
   6. Chokhi Dhani - Jaipur.
   7. Bake Hut - Jaipur.
   8. My home's kitchen - Jaipur.... hehehee.

8 Things I Look Forward To:

  1. Passing my Engineering (OVERSaturated now) - Same for all the engineers.
   2. Get a job in Jaipur.
   3. Know more about myself.
   4. Tell her that it's me.
   5. Conduct an inter-college quiz in my college.
   6. Publish my own book on any one subject from Engineering (Please don't laugh).
   7. Get Oracle certification.
   8. Tell everyone I care about, that how much I love them.

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

Shit !!! Have to answer that.

  1. Facebook. Actually, it happens everyday.
   2. Read that crap about Data Mining for my exams. Groaned !!!
   3. Listened to "Live your life" by Rihanna umpteen times.
   4. Tried fixing my desktop speakers. Partially successful.
   5. Made tea at 12.30 AM and second one at 5:15 AM. The second one was tasteless.
   6. Read VIII Semester Engineering syllabus. More groans!!!
   7. I took bath. That's one thing which is rare in winters.
   8. Saw my school time pics. Became sad.

8 Things I Love About Winter:

  1. No prizes for guessing. NO BATH (Guess... what's the longest record?).
   2. Eat as much as you can. Doesn't seem to have any side-effect.
   3. No need to wash clothes.
   4. Coffee.
   5. Watching birds while sitting in the sun.
   6. Enjoy chilly winds in the nights.
   7. Less electricity bills.
   8. Less water bills.

8 Things on my Wish-List:

  1. IIM Bangalore.
   2. An Alienware Desktop.
   3. Meet Albert Einstein.
   4. Her.
   5. Read all fiction ever published.
   6. Increase my BMI to 20.
   7. Become lead game tester in EA.
   8. Visit Las Vegas.

8 Things I Am Passionate About:

  1. Gaming (Cover me. Roger that!!).
   2. Reading.
   3. Family.
   4. Technology (Everything from Android to HTML 5.0, the list goes on and on and on...).
   5. Love (In the process of discovery...).
   6. Save nature.
   7. Music.
   8. Hollywood movies.

8 Words/Phrases I Often Use:

  1. Oh man!!!
   2. We are screwed.
   3. Ant Shant.
   4. Ultimate.
   5. What the f***.
   6. Shit.
   7. Screw you.
   8. Bhaad mein jaa.

8 Things I Learnt From The Past:

  1. Express yourself (Still learning that).
   2. Open up your mind. Be aware of your surroundings.
   3. This world ain't no heaven.
   4. Experience counts a lot.
   5. Follow omens (The Alchemist).
   6. Every person has some qualities. No one is totally worthless.
   7. Listen to both heart and mind.
   8. Pahla sukh, nirogi kaaya.

8 Places I Would Like To Visit:

  1. Las Vegas (Told earlier also).
   2. Paris.
   3. Vaishno Devi Temple.
   4. Antarctica.
   5. Shamli - A small town in North India.
   6. New York.
   7. Prague.
   8. Frankfurt.

8 Things I Currently Need/Want:

  1. Logout. Stop writing. Take a long sleep.
   2. External hard disk (For both my computer and brain).
   3. My cousin sister.
   4. New pair of sleepers (My room mates broke them).
   5. Washed up and clean clothes.
   6. Someone to take those pigeons out of my bathroom.
   7. A new matka - summers approaching fast!!
   8. Reinstall SQL Server 2005 (Otherwise my project won't work).

8 Blogging Buddies I Want To Tag:

  1. Naman.
   2. SATTU.
   3. Seth Godin.
   4. I.K.Sharma.
   5. ChrisG.
   6. Paulo Coelho.
   7. Jason Bourne. ; )
  8. Myself again.

Phew!!!
Exhausting, but extremely satisfying.
Now, I will take a long, long sleep.

Thanks to Nipun Mittal a.k.a 'Nuts'.

ROI for Social Media

2010-01-22T23:08:00.000+05:30

Olivier Blanchard Basics Of Social Media Roi

View more presentations from Olivier Blanchard.

Win 7 Party.... LOL !!!!

2010-01-17T08:21:00.006+05:30

Simply press (Ctrl+'+') to zoom....... or click the pic.

And we thought we are backward......

2009-12-25T11:05:00.003+05:30

First of all, thanks to Hans Rosling, for giving some fantastic talks, which inspired this post.

Second, I am a complete noob in writing such stuff. So you are requested to criticize, and leave a comment.

And finally, before you move on, pause, and ask yourself:

1. How do you define developing countries?

2. How do you define developed countries (do I mean western world)?

Well, the most simple definition that anyone could give is:

1. Developing world - Short life, large family

2. Developed world - Long life, small family

But hey, how can we accept this?? The problem with us is, that the world view we have today corresponds to the years our textbooks were first published and the teachers who teach us those textbooks were born (same applies to our parents also).

Today, in the new Copenhagen-economy, where no one is pressurized, we must stop talking about the developing world. We must realize that the western world will not continue to dominate forever.

However, we must thank the US taxpayers, who participated in "The Demographic Health Survey", for 25 years, and we have some terrific dataset which will change your mindset. And thanks to US Govt. for providing this data for free, so that we have a grasp of whats happening in the world.

Now, all that data is converted into a number-crunching software at "gapminder.com". For example, look at the figure below.

We see the stats about CO2 emission per person compared with the income per person, from the year 1961 to 2005. Lets compare India and USA. The size of the circle represents the population (obvious), and each circle represents one country. What you will notice is, that from the 1961, the income per person for both India and the USA is constantly growing. But, there is a increase in CO2 emissions in the USA, thanks to their lifestyle.

Now, why USA can't come up with a plan to cut CO2 emissions on a large scale, even when they have got the money, and they have significantly less population, whereas the plans will be much tougher to implement in countries like India, where people are still fighting for bare necessaries.

Where countries like India and China lag is in the inequalities in their own states. Compare Gujarat and Bihar, and you know what I mean.

But, an astonishing fact is that Washington D.C is much richer than Kerala, but not as healthier(another thanks to the health policies of the Kerala Govt.).

Uncle Sam must realize that what Thomas L. Friedman called "The Flat World", is a reality. And that the Asia, specifically India and China, posses a great capacity for development.

Post liberalization, the world has seen a gradual shift of power towards Asia, which will become more significant as time passes by. No one wants another Lehman Bros. No one wants another Flopenhagen.

Let's modify our initial mindset of the world (the developed and the developing).

The new mindset is: "The World Is Converging", but:

1.Not the bottom billion (Africa is still there where it was 50 years ago).

2.Not sustainable (recession still not over completely. Bull is unpredictable).

3.Not around one superpower.

In the new world, each country is important, and there isn't any single country which can progress without global support.

Today's superpower is not the USA, or the U.K.

Today's superpower is the "World Superpower".

Oh... I forgot. Merry Christmas and New Year too.

My CAT Interview

2009-12-05T16:03:00.002+05:30

Test Center - Arya Mgmt. College, Kukas, Jaipur.

1) How many attempts you have made?

Exactly 35 - QA - 11, VA - 13, DI - 11

2) Your last mock score?

76.42 %ile in ProcMock8

3) How was your experience of the test?

Experience was quite good. No problems with faculty, appointed authorities, technical or whatsoever. Please be on time, and religiously follow all instructions.

4) What was the surprise element for you?

Initially felt sleepy sitting in front of computer for 40 min.

Surprise: A new type of graph with cumulative dataset. Nothing else.

5) Any tips to handle the computer based exam better?

Before starting the exam, be clear what all buttons do.
DO NOT CLICK ON - 1) Quit Test button (in the main area)
2) End review button (in the review section)

6) Your overall analysis of the exam. Toughness, sections etc.

Whoever said that the paper was very easy was WRONG.

Section wise analysis:

QA- Average. Those scoring 90+ regular in mock would clear the cut-off easily. PLEASE make sure that you cram up the formulae. Some questions are for 4th grade students.
I forgot some basic formulae.

VA- Easy. If you have the accuracy, just go for it. For some it will be a cakewalk.

DI- Average. Some tricky questions.

7) Any other query or something you would like to share with us.

Many time-speed and progression based questions. Cut-off will be 50+ questions (assuming 95% accuracy).

Maintain your speed. Initially it might seem that the questions are easy, and you have got a lot of time..... but it is not so.

Be cool. As far as computer is concerned, NO PROBLEMS.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

And, as far as i am concerned....... might make it next time.

"Lost Contact". And someone changed the settings to "Realistic"

2009-11-29T00:39:00.000+05:30

My first blog.

Seriously speaking I really don't know, what to write.
But then, since I have followed a series of steps from switching on my PC, to logging in my blog account, I have to jot down a few words.
Hope this does not get too long.......

Let me start from games. My favorite. And one of the few things I adore.

I still remember my first on the computer - Dangerous Dave (in BLACK AND WHITE !!!! And it matches my surname.).
And thus began a journey of a person who likes games by heart.
Let me name the next few of them:
Classics like Solitaire, Hearts and Prince of Persia on the PC.
On the other hand, the TV, came the invincible Mario, Contra, Turtles....... and the list can go on and on and on............

However the real thing began in 2003........ with the coming of "NFS SE".
The next was CS.
Wasn't enough..........
Call of Duty, NFS Series (many sequels), EA Cricket '05 and '07 (can point out 50+ mistakes), Max Payne (superb storyline)......... and the usual time killers, which can give you hours of casual gaming experience.

Upgraded to superlative stuff........ Ahhhhhhh..........
Braid, NFS Carbon, Crysis, World of Goo (no s*** here), World of Warcraft, Burnout Paradise, Left for Dead (those yummy head-shots), Portal, Doom 3, COD Modern Warfare.

"Lost Contact" (gamers do understand what this means. Hear Marcus Fenix in Gears of War) with the real world.

But then someone changed the settings to "Realistic". And the most common and biggest problem was bound to come: HARDWARE UPGRADATION.

And quite suddenly and quietly, ended my journey in the field.

But, before I end this post (and torturing you with my bad style of writing), I leave a list of some classic games which can run on any computer:

Racing: NFS Most Wanted, TMNF Classic, Burnout Revenge

Action/Mission: Counter Strike, Call of Duty 1, Medal Of Honor, Halo (bow down to Master Chief), Max Payne

Adventure: Harry Potter Series
Strategy: World of Warcraft, Age of Empires
Others: EA Sports games (long list), World of Goo, Gish (you play as a tat ball)

I would also like to post a poem, on my case, and pray to god that future gamers do not meet the same fate as I did.

The poem:

"Death Of A Gamer"

His heart was there

His mind was there

If something wasn't

Then it was his hands.

All he wanted

Was the latest specs

He liked it fast

And not a blast from the past

And the world laughed

on the death of a gamer

Nothing is impossible

he thought

for once he made a mistake

of wanting the impossible

Where did he go wrong?

His mind, or his wallet?

Still wishing for that last thing

for always he wanted the bling

And the world laughed, yet again

on the death of a gamer.

THIS POEM WAS WRITTEN ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2009, DURING A VERY BORING LECTURE, ON THE LAST BENCH OF THE CLASS.

Finally, I appreciate courage and valor of all those people who read this poem. For its not easy to read the-worst-poem-i-have-ever-read.

Thanks a lot.

P.S: If any of you can still take more s***, feel free to visit later or follow me on TWITTER (ITS A MUST).