The Transporters

Ever since the buses were changed to hi-tech last year (or the year before that), the bus drivers of my college have taken a new avatar. These transporters frame rules that even Frank Martin of Transporter movie would have considered too many. Here are the rules. (from the drivers’ point of view). (applicable for most of them)

Rule No 1 : You are the king of the bus and the cleaner is your minister.

Rule No 2 : When someone wants to board a bus and if it is a stop assigned for the bus, STOP! If it is necessary, make the student to run to board the bus.

Rule No 3 : When someone wants to board a bus and if it is not a stop assigned for the bus, think again.

1. If you are interested, stop!
2. Else, just flee!
3. If you are kind hearted, slow down a little to show that you cannot stop there and flee.
4. If you are really kind hearted, stop the bus, let them board and give them a warning that it is the last time you are gonna stop at that stop.

Rule No 4 : Befriend a staff or a lab assistant of the bus to gain support from the staff side (There is no way the students are going to support you unless you are good to them).

Rule No 5 : If some student argues with you on the way to college, stop the bus and threaten the staff to ask the student to go away. Don’t start the bus unless your threat is complete.

Rule No 6 : If you hit someone or some vehicle on the road, just run and never look back!

Rule No 7 : If some other vehicle hits you, catch that driver, park the vehicle somewhere and threaten money from the other driver until he submits. Do it even if it costs time for the students and the staffs and do it even if it costs a test for the students.

Rule No 8 : If there is a speed breaker ahead, drive slowly at first so that the front wheel moves smoothly. Then immediately gain speed so that the back wheel takes an immediate jump over the speed breaker thereby throwing all the students at the back.

Rule No 9 : If a student or a bunch of students wants to get down at a stop, think again.

1. If it is not a stop assigned for the bus, just start cursing and stop the bus much ahead of the actual point where the student wants to stop.
2. If it is a stop assigned for the bus, stop slowly and before the last person gets down, start moving the bus so that the student runs along with the bus before getting down.

Rule No 10 : If you are really bored and there has been no fights recently, do not stop the bus at a stop. If someone argues, claim that it is not a stop.

Just my Luck!

Last Tuesday, it was one of my model practical exams (Internet Programming) and it was also a day that I had decided to get another lab record corrected (Case Tools Lab). Having decided to concentrate on Case tools lab record, I decided to work on it. The diagrams needed a lot of mental work and the software wasn’t the best one to draw the diagrams.

I woke up on Tuesday morning and still had plenty of diagrams to complete. So I decided to bunk that morning and to go late for attending the exam, as the exam was scheduled at 1 pm. Successfully, I finished but the problem started just as I expected. The printouts of some of the diagrams were not clear or worse not printed. Initially, I thought the printer was giving the problem but only after half an hour, I realized the actual problem was not with the printer but with the software. I also realized that I got fever (Where did that come from?) I tried alternate methods to get the job done for each muddled printouts.

At 10.30, I had completed all the printing work and decided to get ready. Catching a bus at 11 was the best choice cause it would take maximum one hour to reach the college. But sometimes due to heavy traffic, it would take half an hour more. Even then I wouldn’t be missing the exam. The second problem came as a lightning – as a message from my friend Karthick “Lab at 12!”. Gosh!!! If there is no traffic, I could still make it but a little late.

There was no time left to search for crocin tablet nor was there time to eat. I just took my copy of Java Network book to learn for the exam and also my record sheets. At 10.45 I boarded a bus that goes to Saidapet to reach for 19B, the apt bus at that situation even if it requires standing for the entire 40 km journey. On the way, I received another message from Karthick that the lab is at 12.20 pm (well some hope now!). Luckily I found 19B LSS (exactly what I wanted) at 11 pm. The bus started 2 minutes after I boarded and luckily I got a seat. Throughout the journey, I skimmed through the concepts for each program just going through the syntaxes and packages.

Luckily there was no traffic and the bus driver was driving rapid fast and I reached Kelambakkam, a town prior to my college at 12, the final stop. I got down expecting a bus to go to my college and luckily, I found the treasure as soon as I expected. I looked at my watch every minute although I knew that I would be reaching the college at 12.10 and my thoughts came true. As I entered the gate, I wouldn’t have walked much distance when I heard a horn sound. A guy was coming in a bike. “Lift please?” I gestured with my hands. “CSE Block please?”, I said as I mounted his bike.

He was heading for MBA block, from where it would take just 2 minutes to walk to the CSE block. As I got into the department, I looked at my watch – 12:15 pm. I looked at the lab. My batch students were still standing out. I made it! At 12:20 pm, as I entered the lab, I remembered that I hadn’t eaten anything since morning, nor have I studied anything much, nor have I made my record ready. “No need to bring records!” told ma’am as though she read my mind. With just a pen, I signed the paper, took the question paper and reached the computer before looking at the question.

I got two easy programs which I knew I would have definitely finished in one hour time had I had a second glance at them. But I could still try. Further, ma’am looked at my questions and commented that both are easy. Ofcourse I couldn’t deny it. After finishing the writing part, I decided to work on the easiest program – javascript to print squares and cubes. All set right. Program seemed right. But it was not working. I tried hard and harder, even went to experiment with javascript when I finally decided to quit with it at 2.

My fever had worsened and luckily, it didn’t stop me from programming. The second program was calculator service using RMI. I remembered the syntaxes very well. I coded the program perfectly. But there came one error that bothered me till the end. An error, I knew why it was coming but had no other choice. I forgot one package to import and it ended up in a mess as well. Meanwhile ma’am came and asked me to go for some simple version of the javascript program. “The function is not being reached. Then how could I go for simpler version!?”, I thought.

At the end of the day, ma’am advised me to not rush up with the programs and try it again from the beginning. And it worked! It was a silly mistake as I had expected. I guess I was one of the last to show the output and to leave the lab. By the time I went out, it was 3.45, the usual time at which the buses would start. I walked slowly, with a thought that I could still make it and also because I was tired. As I entered the road, the buses started. I slowly made it to the stop until my bus came, boarded the bus, took a corner seat and slept nicely for the rest of the journey!!!

An Exemplary Outing!

Its been exactly a month since this incident happened. This post should’ve followed the Paradigm post. Anyway, here it goes.

After the success of Paradigm, my class friends planned for a mass bunk on the following Monday. Later it was planned that we would go for a movie. Finally it was decided that we would go for a restaurant and then the beach. What else would be the best place to eat to heart’s content and also chat freely? Planet Yumm ofcourse. The unanimous choice was the food court at Chennai City Center and then the Marina beach.

September 1, 2008.

I got up early that day and was just lazying around. The lunch was at 3 and I still had plenty of time. I decided to start from my house at 2 as it would take just half an hour maximum to reach the place from my house. Things didn’t go as decided. It started at 10.30. The power cut, as a routine of the usual power holiday. At the worse, it is just going to be for one and half hour,. I thought. Time was 12. Still no power! My mobile was having very low battery power and it needed atleast 2 hours of charge. The mobile got switched off when it couldn’t withstand an incoming call from my friend Arun.

It was 1 and there was still no sign of any power. Power did come, but only for five minutes and with the two-minute charge, I decided to handle with it for the rest of the day. When there was no power at 2.20, I decided to leave as such with my mobile and also my camera. There was a message from one of my friends about my whereabouts and before I could reply, I got another call from Arun and again my mobile got switched off! Bingo!

I was supposed to meet up with Arun and then pick up Karthick and leave. It seems to be a simple and clean idea but you wouldn’t imagine that there was a big confusion. But all was set right and I picked up Karthick en route to Chennai City Centre. It was not so sunny that day and hence the ride was pleasant. We came to know that most of the friends hadn’t turned up yet. I was shocked when even Kumar, the organizer of the meet, hadn’t turned up yet.

We reached the City Centre at 3:15, headed straight to the food court. There seemed to be class friends everywhere at that place. I was shocked that almost the entire class had turned up. Most of my friends had ordered pizza to start with. We followed the same idea. When the pizza was getting ready, we found the table where my class friends were sitting and found a seat there. Many took turns in checking whether their pizzas were ready. When it was my turn, I decided to look around at the place. This Planet Yumm reminded me of the one at Anna Nagar in the case of the lightings and the attached kids center. It looked as if the restaurant outlets were forced to be small.

We got our pizzas and the garlic bread. Six of our friends got together and ordered three flavours of ice cream and tried them out. Two of them were really good Just then, some more guys, including Kumar, came and when they were having their lunch, the talk began. It went on and on and on. The photo session started simultaneously though we were asked not to take photos by the authority. Some of the guys and girls had gone inside the kids’ center to play. After some time of chatting, my friend Vijay called me into the kids’ center to take a photo of him along with a cute kid. After taking two snaps of the kid and the boy, I decided to go back to the table. Soon after, ABC, one of my friends, asked me to take a snap of him inside the kids center. (So they made a photographer, eh? Lolz) This one involved too many snaps and did not end in a single click.

Just when we got out of the kids center, everyone had started leaving as the security had asked us to leave (we had been making too much of noise and no one was having any food for a long time.. lolz). Some of the class friends left after the lunch. The rest of us shifted to the beach. At first, we witnessed Arun being the victim of the parrot tarot card reading, where we listened and shouted in chorus to whatever was said about him by the tarot reader.

We headed to the shore and the next one and half hour went just like a speedy wind. It included some people bathing, taking photo snaps, giving mud bath to one guy, throwing one guy into the sea, and taking videos of the movements of a crab. Then some more people left since it was getting dark. The rest of us sat and chatted for the rest of the time until the sunset told us we should leave.

An Exemplary Outing!

Its been exactly a month since this incident happened. This post should’ve followed the Paradigm post. Anyway, here it goes.

After the success of Paradigm, my class friends planned for a mass bunk on the following Monday. Later it was planned that we would go for a movie. Finally it was decided that we would go for a restaurant and then the beach. What else would be the best place to eat to heart’s content and also chat freely? Planet Yumm ofcourse. The unanimous choice was the food court at Chennai City Center and then the Marina beach.

September 1, 2008.

I got up early that day and was just lazying around. The lunch was at 3 and I still had plenty of time. I decided to start from my house at 2 as it would take just half an hour maximum to reach the place from my house. Things didn’t go as decided. It started at 10.30. The power cut, as a routine of the usual power holiday. At the worse, it is just going to be for one and half hour,. I thought. Time was 12. Still no power! My mobile was having very low battery power and it needed atleast 2 hours of charge. The mobile got switched off when it couldn’t withstand an incoming call from my friend Arun.

It was 1 and there was still no sign of any power. Power did come, but only for five minutes and with the two-minute charge, I decided to handle with it for the rest of the day. When there was no power at 2.20, I decided to leave as such with my mobile and also my camera. There was a message from one of my friends about my whereabouts and before I could reply, I got another call from Arun and again my mobile got switched off! Bingo!

I was supposed to meet up with Arun and then pick up Karthick and leave. It seems to be a simple and clean idea but you wouldn’t imagine that there was a big confusion. But all was set right and I picked up Karthick en route to Chennai City Centre. It was not so sunny that day and hence the ride was pleasant. We came to know that most of the friends hadn’t turned up yet. I was shocked when even Kumar, the organizer of the meet, hadn’t turned up yet.

We reached the City Centre at 3:15, headed straight to the food court. There seemed to be class friends everywhere at that place. I was shocked that almost the entire class had turned up. Most of my friends had ordered pizza to start with. We followed the same idea. When the pizza was getting ready, we found the table where my class friends were sitting and found a seat there. Many took turns in checking whether their pizzas were ready. When it was my turn, I decided to look around at the place. This Planet Yumm reminded me of the one at Anna Nagar in the case of the lightings and the attached kids center. It looked as if the restaurant outlets were forced to be small.

We got our pizzas and the garlic bread. Six of our friends got together and ordered three flavours of ice cream and tried them out. Two of them were really good Just then, some more guys, including Kumar, came and when they were having their lunch, the talk began. It went on and on and on. The photo session started simultaneously though we were asked not to take photos by the authority. Some of the guys and girls had gone inside the kids’ center to play. After some time of chatting, my friend Vijay called me into the kids’ center to take a photo of him along with a cute kid. After taking two snaps of the kid and the boy, I decided to go back to the table. Soon after, ABC, one of my friends, asked me to take a snap of him inside the kids center. (So they made a photographer, eh? Lolz) This one involved too many snaps and did not end in a single click.

Just when we got out of the kids center, everyone had started leaving as the security had asked us to leave (we had been making too much of noise and no one was having any food for a long time.. lolz). Some of the class friends left after the lunch. The rest of us shifted to the beach. At first, we witnessed Arun being the victim of the parrot tarot card reading, where we listened and shouted in chorus to whatever was said about him by the tarot reader.

We headed to the shore and the next one and half hour went just like a speedy wind. It included some people bathing, taking photo snaps, giving mud bath to one guy, throwing one guy into the sea, and taking videos of the movements of a crab. Then some more people left since it was getting dark. The rest of us sat and chatted for the rest of the time until the sunset told us we should leave.

When September Ends…

For the month of the september… I made this post in 3 to 5 mins… lolz

Quote of the Month:

There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.

- Peter F. Drucker

Photo of the Month:

A beautiful pic of the scenery surrounding Mount Fuji.

Video of the Month:

A must watch cool video and really funny. It would be better if you had watched ‘The Matrix’ movie to understand who ‘The One’ is.

Movie Trailer of the Month:

Terminator 4: Salvation starring Christian Bale. To be released in 2009. Tagline: The End Begins. Looks like I don’t have to wait a lot.