Year: 2003

Joel On Software – Biculturalism

A quote from the article:
“What are the cultural differences between Unix and Windows programmers? There are many details and subtleties, but for the most part it comes down to one thing: Unix culture values code which is useful to other programmers, while Windows culture values code which is useful to non-programmers”

I am not sure if I agree with that entirely, there is definitely no clear line! In fact I feel he might be missing the point entirely! The users themselves aren’t the same? Do I agree with that? But let me not hold onto that point!

My other favourite quote:
“I have heard economists claim that Silicon Valley could never be recreated in, say, France, because the French culture puts such a high penalty on failure that entrepreneurs are not willing to risk it.”

For those who don’t look at the comments

Comments:
Inspiring blog … The first week at RIT seems a ritual … Happens everytime with every1 ..
Am a newbie here at RIT drilled with a quarter of lost weekends, Insomnia and coding nightmares …
Couldn’t help but notice that 4.0 figure …
You must be GOD 😉
Bye, gotta go, Time for some willowy magic from dravid …
Keep the blog going, It makes good reading …

… always amok

Posted by Blade Runner at December 15, 2003 04:29 AM
Dear Newbie to RIT,

First of all, god bless you for adding a comment to an almost barren blog!

Next, don’t worry your life will return to normal once you have acheived your goal here in Rochester. Soon you will find that spending 30 minutes at a Shopping Mall will not result in a delayed Algorithms assignment. You will discover to your amazement that money is peripheral especially when you are no longer paying tuition. With chagrin you will find yourself with better things to do on a Friday night instead of debugging your Distributed Systems project.

You will, in short be enlightened as to why in the University of Life, a 4.0 GPA means nothing.

But always remember, RIT CS makes you slog now so that you don’t have to slog later!

Until that time, hold fort!

– Santosh

Posted by Santosh at December 15, 2003 11:06 AM

Overstatement?

Some comments from an earlier blog:

“After decades of stoically accepting poverty and mediocrity as our national fate, don’t we just DESERVE every single data point on the economic upturn?!! Now if only bureaucrats and politicians could be beamed away to a distant galaxy…”

Posted by a frequent stopperby at December 8, 2003 07:22 PM

Well, if we were to believe this article the map has changed or will change drastically.

recommended

A Tel Maalish from your local barber shop, at Rs 25/- !! Dimaag ka darwaza khul jayega, bholaprasad mere yaar, ek baar try kar le. Maja aa gaya. While driving back, the stress of 9am traffic seemed so distant. On having driven home, most of the throbbing in my head was GONE. Tel Maalish is usually a combination exotic Indian oils, a firm hand and patience. It has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. Bhai, acha sa maalish kardo! It started with my granny and extended as a form of expression later as I grew up. If you love someone, actions will always speak louder than words sir! Go massage that lower back and relieve her stress 🙂

If your in India do try it out. In related news, the local government plans to ban Massage parlours since they suspect gents misuse the parlour for the massage ladies 🙂 This came from the bhaiyya who was giving me a propah (read between the lines) torso massage.

times here have changed

People, India is currently riding on a very fruitful wave of economic upturn. The other day, an employment newspaper carried atleast 4 ads for walk-in interviews with major employers. The ads were, needless to say, directed towards Software Architects and Developers.

While I myself, am not in a position to “join immediately” as one of the ads implored, I am certainly tempted to go through the process. This is especially justifiable, since I have already killed 2 weeks in Pune with dial-up as my only work conduit. (Bah excuses)

A lot of people are skeptical about what the upturn means.

For starters, some point out it will be short-lived, this is of course in the backdrop of an earlier extreme rise and fall in Software. However, some do pass on relevant reasons too:
1. Lack of infrastructure
2. Red Tape
3. Lack of quality
4. Lack of job satisfaction

While these reasons point towards slowing down of the upturn, they don’t necessarily imply a negative trend.

In the United States on the other hand, not one of the companies I have come across are recruiting this aggressively. I believe its more of a process of consolidation.

After a long time, ironically, the atitude in India reflects independance, optimism and hope and yet it depends on one simple explanation: the resurgence of capitalism, greed and efficiency in the North American continent!

Arsenal don’t look like winners to me

Craig Hignett snatched a point for Leicester with virtually the last kick of the game as Arsenal failed to take advantage of Chelsea’s slip-up at Leeds. Gilberto Silva’s header on the hour had promised to return the Gunners to the top, even after Ashley Cole was shown Arsenal’s 53rd red card under Arsene Wenger for a two-footed challenge on Ben Thatcher.

Match Report

Chelsea 1 – 0 Man Utd.

Fergie may already be having a very longing look at that Premiership Title. I was lucky enough to watch the game on ESPN at home! The report shows that ManU gave a spirited fight. But Money talks and Bullshit walks 🙂 you don’t have to go to a “dance bar” to find out! However, I think the result could have just as well been 0 – 0.