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BarCampMumbai5 – The Experience, The Firsts

 BarCampMumbai, Events, Friends, Open Source, Personal, Technology  No Responses »
Feb 052009
 

Sunday February 1 2009 was the day when BarCampMumbai 5 was held with the same old enthusiasm but at a whole new venue – VJTI College, Matunga. The camp was host to many firsts for the BCM as well as for me.

  1. First time BCM was held outside IIT-B.

  2. First BCM without any sponsorship. It was jokingly called as recession camp by a few of us.

  3. First time I had the responsibility of handling something on my own

  4. I took a first session at BarCamp

  5. First opportunity for me to live tweet from an event

Taking up a session was an awesome experience for me. I haven't spoken in front of a crowd since college days, when we used to have presentations in front of the class. And I am glad that I was able to speak better than I did at college. Also, the amount of response I received from the crowd was unexpected. I expected to have 3-4 people attending the session, so I decided to go for a BoF. But in the end had to adjust it to accommodate an audience of 15+.
There was a downside though, I almost attended no session at all throughout the whole BarCamp. The opportunity to meet up people and do something more than made up for it.
Icing on top of the cake was when some of us went to see the play -The Park, at Horniman Circle. It was a perfect way to end the nice day. Thank you Thakkar for informing about the play. My next blog post would be on the play. It was too awesome to not have it's own separate post.

 Posted by admin at 2:45 am

BarCampMumbai5

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Jan 182009
 

BarCampMumbai is back with it's 5th edition and a brand new venue.

"BCM5

Date: – 1st February 2009
Time: – 10:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m.
Venue: – VJTI College, H.R. Mahajani Marg, Matunga, Mumbai.

BarCampMumbai will be held in VJTI college during their technical festival Technovanza. Unlike, the previous BarCampMumbai, this one will be a one day event but it will be preceeded by BotCampMumbai on the previous day to appeal to robotics enthusiasts.

Some important links regarding BCM5
How to get there – http://barcampmumbai.org/BCM5_Venue
Register your session – http://barcampmumbai.org/BCM5_Sessions
Register as a volunteer – http://barcampmumbai.org/BCM5_Volunteers
Register for attending – http://barcampmumbai.org/BCM5_Register
Facebook page for the event – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=45216741177
Link your blog/photos here – http://barcampmumbai.org/BCM5_Online#Photos
Follow on twitter – http://twitter.com/barcampmumbai
Mailing List – http://groups.google.com/group//barcampmumbai2
BarCamp Blog – http://blog.barcampmumbai.org/

See you at the BarCampMumbai.

 Posted by admin at 4:58 am

Mumbai Traffic

 Random  No Responses »
Jan 152009
 

The Mumbai traffic scenario has come under the scanner of media lately due to a series of incidents involving accidents caused by underage kids who take up the drivers seat. This has raised up lots of questions regarding the involvement of parents and competence of traffic authorities, which has let such an ugly monster raise it's head. As we all have read in the recent articles or heard in the news as to how easy it is to get license for anyone without even appearing for a test, and even if you are under-aged! The parents are also blamed for allowing their children to get access to vehicles.
But, the actual problem is much more deep rooted than that. It's not just the underage driving but the whole culture surrounding vehicles and traffic in India is flawed. Let me make a list of all the flaws in the traffic scenario in India

  • Driving Etiquette: The foremost thing that most drivers in India lack is the basic driving etiquette. Their only aim seems to be racing through the traffic as fast as possible to reach from one point to another. A lot of bikers would not even mind riding on the footpath to get out of the traffic jam.

  • Not Enough Understanding of Traffic Laws: How many of us can stand up and say that "Yes! I am familiar with the traffic laws of my state. Ask me what you want to know.". Many of us are not even aware of what the traffic signboards put up on the roads mean besides the most familiar ones like 'No Parking' and 'No Honking Zone'.

  • Road Crossing: Driving in India is a nightmare. You would find half the humans and their cattle in the middle of the road when you least expect it. This makes it dangerous to the lives of both the parties.

  • Shabby Roads: The lesser it is said about the conditions of our roads, the better it is. On some of the place you'd be happy to find a road in middle of the potholes, even in posh areas of Mumbai.

  • Right to way: A lot of times I have seen traffic jams happening because people refuse to give way to other vehicles, blocking the whole road. It is a no-win situation.

  • No Respect for Traffic Rules: This, IMO, is the single biggest problem of those mentioned here. People see traffic rules as something that is against their fundamental rights. They do their level best to break the rules. Why are police insisting on seat belts and helmets? For the safety of the people on the vehicle. But for most, it is a way for police to exhort money from them. We even disrespect our traffic signals. When was it last that you drove your vehicle through a red light? I am sure that would be a very easy answer for lots and lots of people.

  • Traffic Management: Huh? Did I say Management? Traffic Management is a non-existent word in the dictionary of the government. It is very easy to spot pot-holed roads, badly lit streets, non-functional traffic signals, badly diverted traffic.

  • No respect for Traffic Police It is a common sight to see people breaking the traffic rules and escaping right in front of the traffic police. Even when the traffic police catch them, more often than not the drivers run away from under their nose and the police are left to watch it haplessly. No point pursuing them for petty offenses.

Some of the problems can be solved by some simple solutions. eg. Having SMS short codes to collect information about damaged roads, faulty signals, oil spillage. The highest priority can be given to problem for which maximum number of complaints have been received. A minimum number can be kept, only above that number of complaints will the action be taken. Other solutions include periodic tests and workshops on traffic rules and regulations and need to follow the same. The solutions exist but who among us would take the responsibility?

 Posted by admin at 6:12 am

Welcome the New Year

 Events  No Responses »
Jan 012009
 

Ring out the old, Ring in the new

This is the quote which comes to my mind this new year. Year 2008 was an eventful year worldwide, though it will be remembered more for it's negative consequences more. There have been some really sad events that have affected all of us in the year gone by – the recession, personal tragedies, terrorism, political controversies, natural calamities and lots more. But, it's so great to see people fighting all that back, building up their life to adapt to the circumstances and coming out stronger through it all.
Personally, I have seen some tragedies in my life, too. With the year lowest point being my dad's sudden death which left my whole family in a very vulnerable state. I am glad to see that we have all pulled through that phase and have moved on with life without any further hiccups. The very same year has brought in a lot of good things for me, too. It has been a learning experience to participate in various events that I have participated in from Technovanza to BarCamp to various other meet-ups. With the family responsibilities on my shoulder, I have had an opportunity to learn so many things I just took for granted. I have met many people who have enriched my knowledge and left lasting impressions on my mind.
Now, we have entered a new year. A year full of hopes and aspirations. I am in a much better situation then I ever was as regards my career. For the first time in my life I know my short term and medium term goals although my long term goals are a bit sketchy. I also see a lot of activities happening in this year, which promise so much more for me, gladly looking forward to those in the upcoming days.
This year threatens to show us the lows of economic depression and terrorism. But, at the same time it gives us the strength to fight back all the negatives and come out shining and better sculpted at the end of it all.
Wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year for 2009.

 Posted by admin at 1:00 pm

Last Month CAT Preparation Strategy

 Events, Personal  No Responses »
Nov 032008
 

The countdown to CAT 2008 has begun, just 2 weeks to go. This being my 3 rd attempt at CAT, have been some of the things that I have learnt along the way. There is no silver bullet or a magic potion that works for all. It's a journey of self discovery. Some things that follow may work for you, some may not and some may not work but still help you find what works for you. The important thing is to realise what ticks for ourselves and what doesn't.
So, here's my take on CAT preparation during the final 2 weeks

1) Solve CAT level papers regularly. Previous years CAT papers make a good choice for practising but anything that matches the level of CAT can be considered worthy.

2) Review the paper that you solve. This is a very important step that people seem to miss out. It's important to solve papers but it's even more important to review it after solving the paper. It helps you not only to solve questions better but also to gain overview on how to prepare strategy to solve the paper, understand your strengths and weaknesses and also time yourself.

3) Understand your strengths and weaknesses. By this point in time you should be familiar with what you are good at and what you are not. It is more important to spend time understanding your strength and weaknesses then trying to learn new things at this stage. Learning new things may not help much if you are not familiar with your strength and weaknesses as you may not be able to formulate the right strategy.

4) Study in moderation. People tend to step up their study schedule to cram in as much as possible during the last one month. But, what has worked better for me is gradually stepping it down a couple of gears in the final 2 weeks.

5) Relax on the day before the exam. For last 2 years have never studied for more than 2 hours on the final day. I prefer to relax and refresh my mind to be all prepared for the exam pressure next day. I plan on doing the same this year too. But, be careful. Don't over exert yourself to get to the point of tiring yourself mentally or physically. That may keep your from having peak concentration levels. Also, avoid caffeine and alcohol or any substance that gives sends you into a low after small period of high, as the high may not sustain throughout till you finish the CAT paper.

6) Practise relaxation techniques. Practise whatever relaxation technique you like – meditation, imagery, breathing, etc. I tend to prefer imagery personally but other things may work for you. It's not about which technique you use but the result you achieve. It's important to come fully relaxed for CAT and channel your nervous energy in a positive direction.

7) Eat properly. Yeah most of us find it difficult to maintain a good diet and avoid unhealthy food. But, it is important to eat right food. It helps you keep in proper frame of mind and feel active to last through the paper. And eating right reduces your chances of falling sick. That would be a disaster, won't it?

"8-)" Get ready. I prefer to start preparing all your material to carry for the paper, atleast a 3 before CAT so as to avoid any last minute running around. Also, I pay a visit to the exam center atleast a week before examination to get myself familiar with the place and it's surrounding and note down any special/unusual things that I may have to go through.

9) Study with friends I like to prepare while sitting with friends for the last couple of weeks since it creates healthy competition among us and try to achieve higher. Also, sitting together helps us analyse each other to find points which we would have otherwise missed. Also, some nice fun together during breaks gets you ready to take on further preparations.

10) Believe in yourself. Rest of the things all amount to nothing if you fail to believe in yourself. If you believe in yourself, rest should surely be much easier and should fall into place.

If you have your own ideas, points of views, suggestions please share it with us. I'd be happy with valid criticisms in my methods too. ":-)"

 Posted by admin at 5:22 pm

Communication with simple emerging technologies

 Technology  No Responses »
Oct 262008
 

Seeing a friend giving directions to another friend on how to reach the given location, over twitter made me realise all over again as to how much we can achieve using such simple and relatively cheap technologies available to us today. A GPRS enabled mobile phone and a twitter account is all that was needed in this case to make it possible.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. With more websites and applications coming up with various interactive contents and cell phone with never before heard of features & ultra portable laptops coupled with internet on the move, we are all set for a big change in ease and style of communication. It can now happen in absolute real time, at lower cost. But, unlike previously it need not be one to one anymore. The cost still remains the same if it is for a group or for one on one interaction. At the same time service providers stand to gain as they have more subscribers subscribing to such services.
To top it all, India is already getting ready for high speed Internet connectivity on the move with technologies like wimax, evdo and 3G. Once those technologies perpetrate to the masses we will be able to have world wide video conferencing while travelling in a local bus or train.
What we really need is technologies like wimax to reach the remote parts of our country to realise the true potential of these technologies. We have all been dreaming and speaking of the day when the technology will be advanced enough to make any kinds of communication – audio, video, real time, delayed, private, group, one-to-one, open to public and so on. The technology to change these dreams to reality is here. But, there are 4 areas that need to be worked upon:
1) Reaching critical mass
2) Right implementation for the right people through proper segmenting and need-based product/service customisation
3) Ease of use and good interface
4) Adequate security
As always this development will have both positive and negative impacts but technology has to evolve and people will adapt to it.
It is going to be great to see this unfold in front of us. The dynamics of communication are changing – the cost of communication is going down and the user has choice to make on appropriate mode of communication to select.

 Posted by admin at 10:24 am

Lazing Tiger Prancing dragon

 Random  No Responses »
Sep 302008
 

Here's a nice catchy line from a certain article in Economics Times

in the time that it took Bangalore to build its Indira Nagar flyover, Beijing got ready for the entire Olympics

So, quite explains the pathetic attitude of some of the government organisations in India.
Read the article "The way to double-digit growth" on Economic Times Website.

 Posted by admin at 2:53 am

Earthquake Rocks Mumbai. Again!

 Events, Random  No Responses »
Sep 162008
 

Mumbai felt the tremors again on 17th September 2008 at around 3:15 a.m.
This is the second earthquake to rock Mumbai within last four months. The earthquake which shook the region today was much higher than the previous one, somewhere in June. It was not felt by many people as it occured in the middle of the night and there's been no extensive damage around my area.
Checking around the locality and with my friends, those awake definitely felt the tremble.
As per my guesses the earthquake should be higher than 5 on richter scale. Eerily it has already been predicted to occur today. Though the scale seems to be magnified, the accuracy of the timing and location, as well as the prediction of high intensity of the quake makes one wonder if it's just a co-incidence or is there some real sense behind the theory.
Keep a lookout for the newspaper in the morning for the intensity of the quake, the epicenter as well as the damage caused. Should get some bytes from a few people on their experiences of the quake in the media, today.
Will update the post with the details as and when they are revealed.

Update:-
Magnitude of the quake was 4.7
Time when it occurred at the epicenter was 3:17 a.m. IST
The location of epicenter was 205 kms SSE of Mumbai.

 Posted by admin at 10:13 pm

BCM4

 BarCampMumbai, Events, Open Source, Places, Technology  No Responses »
Sep 122008
 

BarCampMumbai is back again. The same venue, different format.
BCM4 is happening on 4th-5th October 2008 at IIT Powai. Yeah, you read it right it's a 2 day event this time around. There are some other changes too, for better and for worse – as you see it. This time around only way to get to the barcamp is to get involved. You can either volunteer for helping manage the event or you can register as a speaker. A good thing for me as I already wanted to give a shot to volunteering but was a bit late last time around.
You can register for volunteer at Volunteer's Page or register your session in Registration Document.
There's also a logo competition running at BCM this time around for all you creative people.

"BCM
Venue:- SJMSOM, IIT, Powai, Mumbai
Date:- 4th to 5th October 2008

To get news and updates about all the happenings till the countdown clock ticks you can

  1. Join mailing lists and get in touch with the enthusiasts and discuss at http://groups.google.com/group/barcampmumbai2

  2. Follow the blog at http://blog.barcampmumbai.org/

  3. Follow on twitter at http://twitter.com/bcm4

 Posted by admin at 6:04 am

Dadar To Kharghar

 Events, Friends, Places  No Responses »
Sep 082008
 

So, again it's that time of the year that Maharashtra wholeheartedly welcomes Lord Ganesha. Yesterday, my friends from VJTI planned to visit one of our friend's place at Kharghar since they are celebrating the festival at his place.
The journey began with 9 of us catching a Panvel bound bus from Dadar TT at 14:30 after I made my friends wait for a good half hour ":-P" and miss one bus by just about a minute. Since Dadar TT is the starting point for these State Transport(ST) buses we got an empty bus and could sit all together to enjoy the journey.
With the bus, our conversations started too. From movies to actresses to MBA preparations to college life. Then couple of good singers from our group started entertaining the whole bus with some nice Hindi and Marathi songs. Another couple of friends joined us at Chembur, after that the volume of singing went louder. We were the center of attraction of the whole bus. Many kinds of songs, ranging from old to new to happy to sad to peppy to slow to off beat.
To alleviate the peppy atmosphere in the bus, the weather was perfect neither heavy rains nor scorching sunlight. And the scenery along the way made a perfect companion, that cheer up anybody even in meanest of moods.
The whole journey was over in a short span of hour and quarter, but it was well worth it spending the time in joyous mood with friends. As they say "It's not the quantity, it's the quality that matters" ":-D" . It was definitely a high quality time with friends. So, we finally got off at the Kharghar highway, near ITM School Of Management and proceeded on our way to friend's house on foot. Joking and chatting all the way!
Definitely one of the days to remember and a great way to spend a weekend. Duh! Who needs rest on a weekend ":-)"

 Posted by admin at 3:27 am
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