Observations, wearing me down!

I won’t brag…!

I was planning to build a wireless controlled dynamic mechanical stuff, maybe a model car.

While I proposed this to my classmates. I got really diverse response.

Few of them did took interest, but something with me or them went wrong.

When I told I wanted to build the chassis of the car… they didn’t know what a chassis really is.

I proposed, maybe I can use the Arduino Bluetooth, that reduces a very good amount of work, and as the platform is open source, it is always patent free.

When I told them, to program to build the behavior a intelligent order driven machine. But they ridiculed my proposal. Why?

I won’t really blame them, they are definitely no familiar with technology as I am. They should try to start to learn!

But it drove me mad, when I saw my ideas getting ridiculed. My classmates are not built for Geekdom. I hope they catch up soon!

And for now, I think I have to walk alone in this exciting world…

After all, the world is my home!

My next project, maybe a oscilloscope, using the Arduino Platform or build the car myself.

Project Euler Problem 7

That is the problem I chose to start with, while participating in Project Euler. You can have a go at http://projecteuler.net

That is where I started to help me cure myseld of my ADHD (Recently I think I have ADHD). That stands for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. As I am seeing my life through my eyes, I find the symptoms inside me.

It happens when you switch very rapidly. And Wikipedia says that it also has a strong genetic component.

I switch subjects very rapidly. Like, few days, I am with micro controller programming, then few days with number theory and then few days with cryptography. This is not very healthy for our brain. I think I need to stop multitasking, and get things done one-by-one.

Or I might have more severe ADHD. Actually I came to know it, when I started reading The Last Theorem by Arthur C. Clarke. Ranjit Subramanian had this disorder as his friend Gamini pointed out in the novel.

Anyway, I solved this problem 7; The 10001th prime number is 104743. I made a program to solve the problem. I really liked the nature of this problem.

I give the Python code below.

http://drop.io/byvmgs9

The code, a very simple one, suggested by Ranjit Subramanian in the novel.

It took a few minutes to find the 10001th prime on my PC. I am sure there are more less resource hungry algorithms, my next quest is to find another more efficient one.

The novel is bit unworthy for grown up readers I think; The plot is a bit childish. But it has a lot of talk inside, that is what I really liked about the novel. And for a layman, it is very healthy (For his/her brain of course).

Right now, I will be desiging a logo for my deviantART userpage.

Go visit: http://rivalslayer.deviantart.com

Thanks!

Python vs. Ruby

It’s been a while since I started progrmaing in Python. I am pretty much used to this langauge unlike any other language. Few days ago I picked up a book Ruby, and started Ruby-ing.

As new to engineering, I don’t have very specific projects or jobs. So, choosing a language to specialize on is pretty difficult for me.

I always had a weak spot for Ruby, while I learned Python, I envied Ruby.

And now, life is hard for me, to choose a single language, among this two so great languages.

Damn…!

Few experiences…

Went to the Kolkata’s College Street today. It was a nice with friends.

I got two great books, one about Elementary Electronics, and the other one is Ruby of Learning Series of O’Reilly.

Couldn’t find the book on Numerical Analysis I was looking for.

Went to coffee house, ate Pakoras and drank Infusion (Fancy name for Black Coffee). And also found more college mates there.

Saw two old books, which I think I will find them, if I go there next week also.

Had to wait in the long queu of people at the Sealdah ticket counter, about Half an Hour.

Bought an apron for Chemistry Lab Work.

Met a friend after a while.

And another secret I can’t stop myself to write. But, for now I will leave that experience for a more elaborate post, maybe tomorrow or some days after.

Getting down?

Suddenly today at our differential equations class, I felt that my brain is not working in the way it used to. Like I was slow today, to grasp stuff, that I studied before in my +2 course. Today, at Chemistry Laboratory I failed to decode the whole stuff in an instant like I used to at High School. I was slow to explain Special Relativity to a friend, even I failed to quickly grasp the Numerical Analysis examples there was in the Atkinson book.

And I find that really hard. I really love my intellect. And seeing that failing, I cannot stop myself to investigate it’s reason.

And my investigation while at bus; The Report goes like this.

1st Possible Reason: It is my hatred to the Engineering Syllabus that is making my brain lazy. It is complicated but not impossible.

2ns Possible Reason: It is my depression with myself, for being not able to study the hardcore stuff I like, is making me ill.

3rd Possible Reason: It is the stress that I am having to cope up with, with the Trains and the Buses. It is really bad at the time I travel.

4th Possible Reason: My depression due to the fact that I don’t have a Girlfriend. (Shut up! Bullshit reason!)

5th Possible Reason: I keep recalling that I am not studying Physics; Making me MAD!

6th Possible Reason: I am putting much pressure on myself, trying to learn many technologies (i.e. PIC Programming, Java, Ruby, Arduino Platform, CSS etc etc.) at once.

I don’t know the correct reason, but I think the last one is the most plausible. I hate to wait to learn. There is so much to learn, and there is so little time. So I need to make up all the time I can get to learn stuff.

I need to be more systematic to get to learn many stuff fast. I may not progress in the haphazard way I am trying now!

New Year trip!

I had nice start this year. I went to Samsing and Suntaley Khola. Pretty nice places at Himalayan foothills. Me, my parents, and my aunt, uncle and my cousin, that was the team.

The whole trip was full of fun. We ate a lot, wandered a lot, saw a lot of bird and insects (unfortunately identified very few of them), and made jokes all the way.

I cannot narrate them whole story right here at the blog, but I can give you a few experiences in small packages.

Me and my father had a lot of great time together watching birds. I could identify very few. I think I should give you the list of birds we saw and identified (a lot more we didn’t notice)

3rd January:

• Streaked Spiderhunter

4th January:

• White Browed Wagtail
• White Capped Water Redstart
• Plumbous Water Redstart
• Indian Pond Heron
• Red Whiskered Bulbul

5th January:

• Yellow Bellied Fantail
• Bronzed Drongo
• White Capped Water Redstart
• Plumbous Water Redstart
• Scarlet Minivet
• Blue Rock Thrush
• Red Whiskered Bulbul
• Intermediate Egret

6th January:

• Scarlet Minivet
• White Capped Water Redstart
• Indian Peafowl
• Ashy Drongo
• Aberrant Bush Warbler (Not sure!)
• Yellow Bellied Fantail
• Racket Tailed Drongo
• White Crested Laughing Trush

7th January:

• Rufous Treepie
• Crested Bunting
• Racket Tailed Drongo
• Greater Yellownape
• Blue Whistling Trush
• Bronzed Drongo
• White Capped Water Redstart
• Scarlet Minivet
• Greater Racket Tailed Drongo
• Long Tailed Sibia

8th January:

• Slaty Backed Forktail
• Scarlet Minivet
• Black Baza
• White Crested Laughingthrush
• Blue Whistling Thrush
• Plumbous Water Redstart
• White Capped Water Redstart
• Aberrant Bush Warbler (Not sure!)
• Grey Treepie

9th January:

• Slaty Backed Forktail
• Scarlet Minivet
• Spangled Drongo
• Black Crested Bulbul
• Blue Whistling Thrush
• Red Whiskered Bulbul

I wish I could gather more details.

We were walking on the road at Samsing in the evening while I caught a big glow beetle. It is very much bigger than what we find in our neighborhood, it was about one inch in length.

At Suntaley Khola, me and my father also tracked down a grasshopper. It was humming a engine like sound, I also captured a video. While we released it after our study, the cat ate it. Bad Cat!

A Blue Whistling Thrush was getting on our nerves as we tried to see it, it was flying out of reach everytime. On the day we were leaving I had a lucky snap.

Had a lot of fun in the forest. It is the second most dense forest I ever saw.

And I had to cross Murti River many time, the Hard Way.

You can see more photos at,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xenoargento/sets/72157612336582471/

And the post I wrote about New Year Resolutions, those things are pretty useless. So no post on that.

Another year

The Gregorian Calender says today is the second day of year 2009. And it can also be inferred that 2008 just passed out. There was something I wanted to do, and I did, and there was also few things that didn’t turn out right.

Let’s make a list…

The things that turned out wrong,

1. Wanted to study undergrad Physics, but turned in a Engineering School.
2. Wanted to buy a NOKIA 3120 Classic, while at shop, bought a Sony Ericsson W350i.
3. Wanted a nice love, but when I proposed, everything went upside down.
4. Wanted to draw a Digital Picture I had in mind, but never found a nice way to make that nice.
5. Wanted to programme a PIC, but didn’t have time.
6. Wanted to contribute to OSS, but couldn’t find a suitable project.
7. Wanted to make a DC Adjustable Power Supply, blew up a capacitor.

The things that turned out right,

1. Wanted a Sony Ericsson HPM-82 Headphone, I got it!
2. Wanted to build a LED timer, and understand how that is working, and now do understand.
3. Wanted to go to my Winter camp, that went successfully.
4. Saw almost all the movies I wanted to see.
5. Got the supply of music I needed to survive.

Things that went wrong badly,

1. The W350i Flap broke.
2. The Semester Exam didn’t turn up well.
3. The HS Exam was definitely not well.
4. Proposal to a girl went corny.
5. A Friend went mad over a Young Woman (Girl to be more precise), and breaking up.

Things that were great,

1. Found few nice friends.
2. Got few hardcore experiences, that will make me stronger next time.
3. The Laboratory Exams were fun!
4. Lost a bit of weight.
5. Got a nice pair of shoe, which I tore badly, with my extreme walking and running habit.
6. Learned how to stay in Harmony with the outer world.
7. Got an idea of Tensor equations.
8. At the Summer School on Basic sciences at IACS, I realized that I have a lot of fun left in life.
9. Learned Group Theory and Symmetry Basics.
10. Learned Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Dynamics.
11. Learned ploy phase power implementations.

And my plans for 2009, I will write after I return from trip on 10th.

Thanks Folks!