Letters to the Editor

(& praise)

"KNOL is truly Knowledgeable. Best thing is that it is for everybody, means people having interests in different fields from serious, intellectual types to gossip mongers. Plus, its interactive.. with those arrow marked comments. So, overall it's really very very cool... Great work... :-)"

- Sonakshi, IT- 2^nd year

"There wasn't even a single thing stereotyped. I mean everything was so fresh and pleasure to read. Keep on taking feedbacks and get set for the The KNOL – December issue. At least I'll be looking forward to it."

- Mukul Saxena, IT-3^rd year

"Good work man. KNOL rocks!! Waiting for the next edition."

- Bhashkar Naithani, ME-4^th year

"Incredible work! Bata kya chahiye.....? :D Ismein humara naam to hai hi nahin. Lol"

- Manu & Vitika (Editor Nikunj Lahoti's brother n sister-in-law. Working for software firms in UK) [this ain't Uttarakhand]

Editor:

Thanks a lot for the valuable words of praise. We are glad that you liked it. We'll try to make KNOL delightful experience for the contributors, for the readers and for the volunteers themselves.

"Comment: Awesome work!!...Enticing Creativity!!..Spell bounding graphics!!...who says COER lacks Talent...KUDOS!! ( IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN BETTER )

Criticism: The hazardous material data sheet appeared to me a bit out of league( like odd man out stuff a bit immature thought for such a creative stuff)...but again thats my thinking.

Suggestion: Avoid Committees Stuff(make it purely an autonomous body)."

- Gaurav Khantwal (COER Batch '07 ET / Admin Assistant, College of Science, GeorgeMason University)

Editor:

hello Sir.
thanks a lot for giving us your valuable feedback.
it really has been a pleasure to receive your mail.
We are Sorry because we couldn't reply to it earlier because of some petty issues.
We are Glad because you liked the KNOL.
In future we surely would try to improve and make it more crispy & relevant.

The first edition was targeted for those who couldn't understand the meaning of "Knol" and for the other few who couldn't buy our credibility. So we even tried to show efforts (though crappy as it looks) thru our notices too.
you can check our archive @ http://theknol.blogspot.com

One thing that we think is a hindrance to the effort, is the size of the team. We need people who actually want to work & you know how difficult it is to find such creative people.
But soon we'll do something for that. We'll be in touch with you for guidance.. et al.
Thanks again.

Before you get your hands, rather eyes, on what I've written, I'd very much like to make it clear that after reading it you might land on some conclusions such as this- this text was meant for a different group of readers initially, but slowly the focus drifted to the KNOL guys. Hope you wudn't mind that. Other than that, after reading it, do tell me wateva u feel like. Keepin u busy no more, here's the deal:

You guys might be wondering what's with this surge of enlightenment amongst the final years that's been keeping them on their toes working so hard to bring out a mag such as this. Well, the excitement of being a creator, that's known to all of us, constitutes one of the prime reasons for the same. Yet it's not all, far from being the heart and soul of the matter.
Well, as the legend goes, our dearest friend Nix (this being the Linux version for Nikunj; derived from good old buddy Tux, the Linux mascot penguin – courtesy me, although his pet names like 'Niks' (mark the difference!)or 'Lambu' already were in existence) came up with the stupendously superb idea of publishing an e-mag that'd carry the informal as well as formal stuff pertaining to college happenings and activities. An e-mag was a good choice due to many a reasons quoting all of which is neither necessary nor required here. A few of the many would be the easy distribution, the almost priceless (either way!) creation and best of all- on-the-fly readability. That's really brilliant, my friend.

Well, being an avid reader (interested in the details? Check out my Orkut profile) I considered penning something down for the mag, first edition, but sadly, lazy as I am, could do little to bring my thoughts into action. Nothing new in it, I've achieved flawless perfection in postponing things with official deadlines to the last possible extent. But the summary of it all was that I was pretty much unable to be able to be featuring my name in the volume 1 of KNOL (MUCUR's been missing me so much for all the same reasons all this while). I finally figured out that it's time to be up-n-running or it's a now-or-never situation for me. And this is the first write-up that I'm composing. As I couldn't figure out what to write, so here I am.

Congrats to the KNOL team for all the good work. And hey guys, could u try making it more informal? After all, it's OUR mag pals. And to Nikunj, hats off dude. Keep up the good work.
Take care. Hoping to be able to extract all the more fun from the upcoming issues, yours truly.

- Bhashkar Sharma, IT-4^th year

Editor:

hey... that's one thing we'd like to include in KNOL... its full of humor.. and is catty...
Hats off to you too for coming up with something of that measure.
I really enjoyed every ounce of it... (who'd not!!!? It was a prise to either the idea.. or to us... Lol)
Thanks a lot for appreciating... & I want you to know that I seriously want at least one write-up from you....in the next issue. Well we'll try to make it more catchy... more informal & full of fun... together we'll make it a place for the KT (knowledge transfer)... the platform..we all ever wanted :D tkcr.......(thanks again)

CRAPpy IDEAS

In this tough time.. when getting out of the quilt is one big morning struggle (read: ordeal)... & keeping eyes positioned on the book is a distant affair (we all day dream.. Right?), our (crappy) creative team is always trying hard to come up with something... Something to prove their might right...!!

We personally believe that in such difficult times some of the best ideas are conceived. We've now made a resolution, to take out a day every week staring at a course book ('ideating' in short).

Some of this month's potential candidates are:

BAND-BAJAAO

YEAR-BOOK

RE-UNION

Year-Book

Watching people look back to their high school and college yearbooks in all these movies and TV Series, we some how developed this craving to have one for our own.
Lets get a quick (not brief) overview of the whole thing & later jot down some important stuff.

Wikipedia Says:
“A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all American, Australian and Canadian high schools, most colleges and many elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks.”

Compilation
Yearbooks are generally compiled by a student committee, which may or may not be advised by members of the faculty. The committee usually has one or more editors who are responsible for collecting and compiling all of the information to be contained within the book, also deciding the layout and allocation of space for each contributor.

Layout
Refers to the appearance of the pages, and it may include the following elements:

• The Headline: This is a theme that ties the page into the story and draws attention to the reader.

• The Story/Copy: Consists of several paragraphs, capturing the highlights of a specific department, sports season, organization, etc., from the past year. Often, yearbook staff members will either send out surveys/interview students, teachers and others for comments.

• Photographs: Candid shots of students, suitable to the page's topic and theme. Often, editors seek to include a cross-section of the student body (e.g., classes, races, school involvement, etc.). Included with the photographs are one or more captions, which describe each picture; these often begin with a lead-in.

Normally each student will have an individual photo of them accompanied by their name and perhaps one or two lines of text. Student's photographs are often accompanied by text about their accomplishments throughout the college, and their future plans (if known). Frequently, seniors are polled to nominate their classmates for "superlatives" or "class celebrities" (such as "most likely to succeed," "most athletic," "most spirited" and "class clown"), are often published in the senior section. Some private schools and smaller high schools set aside an entire page for each senior. These pages are sometimes designed by the seniors themselves, with each senior submitting a digital or physical version of the page he or she would like featured in the book.

Student Life
Several pages are often used for pages chronicling activities undertaken by students, such as trips abroad (eh!! what's that?), activity trips, sporting and other special events. These pages often consist of photo-journals displayed with or without captions.
Sometimes members of a yearbook write editorial and journalistic content about life as a student, current events (local, national and international) and other matters of interest to the peer group.

Advertising pages
Many yearbooks gain revenue by including a section of ads from local businesses.
Some schools sell advertisements for seniors. Parents, other family members and friends use these ads to congratulate a senior — or group of seniors — for their accomplishments.

Distribution
Often, yearbooks are distributed at the end of a school year to allow members to obtain the books and signatures/personal messages from classmates.

Digital yearbooks
A digital yearbook is a yearbook holding memories of a given time with a given group of people. A digital yearbook contains text, images, audio, and video. While a traditional paper yearbook may contain a few dozen pages, a digital yearbook can contain hundreds or even thousands of pages. The end product of a digital yearbook is either a CD-ROM or a DVD.

SNAPSHOTS (University of Michigan)

pp222-223 & pp26-27

(Index & Advertisements) pp372-373 & pp16-17

Q. So? [silence] What's the catch??
A. Lets see how many of us need such a book to show it to their siblings or kids, later in their life. Well a couple of decades down the line, who wouldn't want to look back?? How about bringing peace to your mind [after looking at it] when one day, talking to an old friend, you weren't been able to recollect a face or remember a name [of a batch mate or a faculty]? Or just to see the change(s) happened to you.

Q. How is that any different from the college's official annual magazine?
A. Come on! You really need an answer to that? It doesn't have a snap of each one of us. Well seriously it'll have loads of pictures of the students, our lush green campus, and what not. All in a fashion we ever thought (or even if didn't).

Q. Who'll do this job?
A. Well as suggested, a group or a committee informally or otherwise would be made with or without a convener. If the “one”-publishing-the-annual-magazine finds the idea a) 'worth it' & then b) feasible & then c) is willing to (& can [well you can say... 'the administration', 'R&D' and 'spare-time' required]) do it...... YAHOO! This couldn't have been better (with all their experience & finesse). Its gonna be incredible.

Q. Okay if the “one”-p-t-a-m turns their back. How are we going to proceed?
A. Well in that (unfortunate) case, we are on our own.

Things we'll Need:

• People to take pictures and help produce the book (called Volunteers)

• Technical Know-how with some of the finest pagemaker tools (think Adobe)

• Cameras, computers, software for page layout (called Symbiosis)

• Lots of time and patience (called Persistence)

• Candid Photographs & Written articles having relevance to us (We the Living)

• Advertisers (in case we need to get the book published even for the final year alone) – Would people be willing to pay?

• Publishers (ours is a small town. Right?)

• Portraits (passport sized maybe) of the multitude of students.

Q. Great! So we need pictures of everyone in the campus?
A. Not really. Just the final year graduating (or maybe more than that. As in M.B.A. and M.C.A.). It'll be an every year (annual) affair. Each time for the current final year.

Q. How is KNOL related to any of it?
A. KNOL is a platform where ideas merge and beauty is CREATED. Its just a random thought occurred to one of our (CRAPpy) creative leads. If you can see the very obvious... KNOL is, in a way, very flexible & can take any part...from playing the role of an online college-forum(like Orkut-Community)... surveying machine....to an online college-magazine. Lets shape out something good. & make it (!world) a better place to Live-in.

Update: 20080128

• KNOL is not going to work with any committee “officially”. Its not that we didn't try.

  KNOL is autonomous... Its informal & thats why is so flexible.. that no one knows where did the December edition go!!! Of course there are lovely people who have agreed to assist us.

• For doing all the work successfully we need more people in our Team. If you are interested, then please write to us or contact via phone numbers.

• As of now this YearBook, once made, will be available online in our very favorite PDF format. Lets call it DY-KNOL (Digital Yearbook KNOL) [Pronounced: Dai-KNOL] henceforth.

• This PDF can be printed out (we can make arrangements of that later if possible).

  Efforts are being made to make a hard-copy of the Book available to everyone FREE OF COST. If not, then at least to those who contributed well.

• The Plan is.. that once the email-ids are collected (How & What comes later). We'll send people the questionnaires & online links to be filled in.

• Questionnaires will have things like 'confessions', 'crush-list', 'things-I'll-miss', 'experiences-earned' and 'testimonials' etc. Online we'll run polls to Elect (& give titles to) 'the Cutest Guy in the batch' & 'the Fart-o-phile'.. et al.

• The Current Friend Circles(groups) in the final year batch can share with the world about their little heaven. The pet-names for everyone. The Story behind the group. Lingos.. Jargons.. & what not [The beauty of a Digital YearBook lies in its ability - “Size NO-Bar”. A separate page can be given to each member of the group]

• What we need people for:

  • Section Representatives:

    One guy & one gal (Mechanical department can be an exception here) would be collecting passport sized photographs, permanent email-ids, phone-nos (girls can give their work-phone or dad's number) of the students in the section in the final year.

  • CONTENT COLLECTORS:

    These people know the art of nagging well and so can do the very dangerous and tedious job of getting something beautiful (think: articulation) out of “We the People”.

  • FUND RAISER: (optionally)

    To get this thing printed out (published), we need money & the highly coveted skill to negotiate. So a little influence is required. Socialites to pay heed.

  • Photographers:

    Candids, and pictures of the campus and of any incidents. Please share with us.. all your amazing collections if you want that to be part of the issue.

  • Story Tellers & Elephants:

    Its said that Elephants have a sharp memory. We need these guys to narrate to the lesser mortals (like us) & make us recollect the Incidents (like The MESS Strike.. the Audi Wall.. or the Wedding(s) in the campus. et al) and of course the individual Achievements of the students of the batch (think: IIT-R.. GRE.. Google SOC). We'd really appreciate if such photographs come & the knowledge is shared with us.

  • Creative Leads:

    People who'll give ideas for the content in the DY-KNOL... stuff like we talked about and assistance to the designers for the colors-combinations and the graphics.

  • DY-KNOL designers:

    We'll train people how we work at KNOL and how we create the document every month. On top of this knowledge & technical guidance the development will commence (parallel-processing is the word).

  • Editors:

    These editors decide upon the content that comes and finally takes out the best & make it better keeping the morality alive.

  • Copy-Desk:

    Speedy typists to copy the handwritten stuff (if any) to the electronic archives for later use & persistence.

Post a comment if you could make a perception.

Re-UNION

It is going to be the 8^th graduating batch of B.Tech this year from COER. Wouldn't it be nice to come back and meet the batch-mates. Totally worth it I guess. Almost all of the colleges of a stature have this common thing (lets not talk about CGPA here), even some of the schools call alumni for a get together after certain years.

I don't kinda appreciate him (or his ideas) much but I really liked one of his saying

“Be the change you want to see in this world” - MDKCG

So if we really want some things like that to happen for us, we've got to make things come in action right now, as “The Change comes with Time!”.

Hope you get the point. But what can we do? Well.. there is something we can surely do. We can nag committees to arrange (& propose) something like that to the top-brass in such a fashion that they pay heed.

Random cynical thought: Don't know whether an “inter-college festival” is a possibility in 'our' campus.

Band-Bajaao!!

The mobile phones emerged and so did the vella people who had all the time (& energy... [include 18-Rs-free-SMS-vouchers to be bought]) in the world to waste (caution: use euphemism).. calling.. swearing.. & irritating the ones having the fairer skin. Making them feel.... hmm... lets say 'important'. Okay lets not digress any more and save ourself from getting an earful (a fretting feminist should know that we are in the same team).

Lets see how the protocol functions.... :D

(At least) Two girls (we'll check that) would have to testify (we'll ensure that repudiation won't be a possibility) that a number is responsible for severe brain(s) damage.

In short, they'll (we won't disclose the names of the victims) tell us the number which causes trouble & related agony, and in return we'll float this number here in the upcoming issues with a potential Threat-Level.

It serves us in two possible ways......

a) Seeing this number we'd fish out our mobile phones and would try to attach a name against the number. If we get successful... the guy's public image gets mutated for sure (if not occurred a metamorphosis). How about a 'total-social-boycott'?

b) we know another unknown 10 digits we can miss calls from.

In case we spot a guy, we surely can send “get-well-soon” wishes through The Knol as well.

Some issues surrounding that:

1. If you get into a caller's head, you'll find a list of numbers (as his potential victims), now seeing his number afloat here, wouldn't he get berserk & would go after one with vengeance? – Would that be making the problem even worse?

2. What if the guy has a separate mobile number for this job (which comes alive at the dead of the night) – Do you really think someone can be THAaaaaaT Despo??

3. What if this guy delegates this sadistic role to a local friend who is not in our college!! - Well its nothing we can do about it. But nonetheless we'd know a number we'd not have to even care to pick up... ever... ever.

If you appreciate the idea (even when you don't) or suggest a change in the same (or maybe have a similar yet different & exciting one)... do post back. Post comment

Updates and advancements

[this month]

• blogspot.com (blogger.com) is no longer blocked by the college's proxy server listening at 192.168.0.2:3128. Kudos!! Its freedom to all the Blogger's.

• OpenOffice.org just got a version older. We've switched to OpenOffice.org 3.0.1. Its so much the better :D [Opensource rocks].

• 1624 fonts with us are all ready to show their worth. But finally our team has got unanimous over a font (this same font) named “Teen,sans-serif” [Guess they just could not forget theirs.....]

• हिन्दी support fixed in OpenOffice.org using CTL (Complex Text Layout). Using SCIM (Smart Common Input Method) & useful translations, “hai” became 'है'। Insert → Special-Character (using Lohit Hindi) has been useful to find key strokes. We also can write in other Indic languages, to name a few, Telugu.. Tamil.. Kannada.. Oriya.. Malayalam.. Punjabi.. Gujarati.. Bengali.. Assamese etc but reckon... who'd understand or translate 'em?

• Monthly Archives in text format (without our KNOL touch) would now on be accessible every month on our new blog knolthismonth.blogspot.com.

• Commenting (posting feedback) on all of the articles is now possible. Even anonymously!

• This month owing to the typos in the first issue The KNOL team decided to let the articles undergo a rigorous testing & checking procedure. We manually tried to check for structural errors or misleading sentences but lets face it.. after all we are humans. We're determined to improve, & hope such errors would be minimized in the future.

• New sections have been added. Like this one (change-log) & 'CRAPpy ideas' & Launch-Pad & SuperKnol (Collaborative Effort).

• iPaper
  Scribd.com converts the uploaded pdf documents into iPaper. iPaper can be very easily embedded inside any html page using the scribd's flash support. It offers a variety of modes like book-view, single-page-view etc. We have the November'08 issue available at knolthismonth.blogspot.com.

• SIZE
  We do the basic designing in OOo and then export it as PDF (Portable Document Format). Last time the whole document became 9.6MB large in size, all because of the Digital-Camera pictures in the Big-Story as well as the Committee-updates. We finally have been able to find a work around. Now while exporting the document we can reduce the DPI of images & the quality of the images. It'll help those who had trouble downloading it the last month.

• Owing to the viewer's interests, demands and feedbacks, we've discontinued the committee-updates section, making it totally autonomous.

• Pictures (snaps) of the contributors have also been added. Now you can even spot your favorite writer at the grocery shop (or maybe taking a stroll around café).
  

• Index page has agreed to show up this time.

Hey guyz ....waise toh u must b feeling very tired after following d every nuz related to Mumbai TERROR attack...right???
This terror attack was d worst one that we have seen in d long time..it killed about 200 lives including some top officials like ATS chief- etc.
But the great ex-C.M of Maharashtra said such incidents happens in big cities.
Although he had to quit but u must have seen him laughing at d press conference...
Some people says we are more united now .. n they (d terrorist) can't divide us on religion..
We showed our patriotism or say it anger to be more precise, by doing rounds of SMSes... holding some rallyz... walking wid a candle in the hand.. placards showing the reflection of our thinking..burning some effigies..
That's d way we react all the time. so nothing nu about it...but tell me.. is that enough?
Can't we do something that can help?

We always criticize the whole system..We often use “THEY ALL ARE CORRUPTED” and finish the discussion... M I right (again :D)? But thats not funny...
Now u'l say ki “HUM KAR BHI KYA SAKTE HAI”???
But I think there is at least one thing that we can do...we can 'VOTE'.. Don't u think ki somehow we are d real culprit?? We elect these people toh basically it is our fault..
In our country the voting rate is always below par..and those who vote, I doubt..what is their criteria of voting a person...some says “HUM TO HAMESHA SE HI HAATH PE MOHAR LAGAATE HAI”... Sometimes toh they don't even know d representative... So how we can be sure that our country is in safe hands?? Here m feeling lyk using d F word..
So,what I wanna say is please yaar.. come forward and Vote..m not asking you to pay nething but your consciousness...
I bet most of u don't even own a Voter Id card...even I don't have one...but I have applied for it now..
Recently there was some nuz that nu registration for Voter Ids are on.. but I found it a bit tedious.. u can check it, if u find it then please go forward and make sure u own a Voter Id now...
Otherwise keep reading this article :D

I found a simple way... JAAGO RE.. u must have seen this on TV..

All what u have to do is..go to www.jaagore.com n d site will itself guide u to the entire process..

after registering to d site, it will provide u a FORM 6.. which u will have to submit to your neighborhood. Don't worry d site will provide u the address too...

So u see how simple it is :)

And please don't think ki m getting something from JAAGO RE ;)

I hope ki aap log ab JAAG gaye ho.. please try to wake some more people and take a step forward to do something for our motherland otherwise...hmm... i don't know.

..k then, see you in the polling booth..take care

[contributed by: Sandeep Aggarwal, CS, 4^th year]

Well, as it seems, I’m supposed to be writing something REAL and FRUITFUL here. Both of the aforementioned words might sound creepy or CRAPPY as you might, but wait, don’t get scared and run away. The article might not turn out as horrendous as it is presently sounding, I hope.

With exams up-n-running for us, it’s time to unleash all the creativity that’s hibernated for a while now (to be precise, since the last semester exams ended). Being the seventh semester for us final years, it’s just a repeat performance time. Nothing to be afraid of (at least for us CS IT guys), things would fall fine. It’s just a mug-up-n-spit-out process for many a few. Sorry if some of you are offended, but that is just the way it is.

Bringing into perspective the 'article' I penned down 3 yrs down the timeline, the present state of the economy and of the market makes me thoughtful even more than it did back then. Are we putting our ‘selves’ at stake? For those who are blank about all of it; let me get things straight. I wrote something on what this regular job-life is really going to give us; save from the possible millions, which too now seems a feeble and bleak possibility. Call me all the names you want, pessimist would just be the beginning of a possibly unending queue, or 'linked-list' maybe. I beg to restate here that I am not any economist, let alone the one with a foresight. All my petty head can accumulate is that there have been things that shouldn't, and maybe it’s payback time for many a few. The whole system-gone-wrong that has needed an overhaul for so long a time is now in an emergent situation, maybe comparable to a patient in ICU.

But what the hell, we as the educated n ultra-KNOL-edged ones at that, maybe need to consider our options. I understand that my article might not be able to mean absolutely anything to many of you revered souls. It might sound like sheer CRAP (on a totally different level, it actually is!), but as I've already stated, I’m not here to cast my vote to your idio(syn)cracy. Nor do I mean to paint doomsday scenarios for you guys. A few do that to themselves all the time (now THAT's pessimism). Economy should and it hopefully would get back to its strong self in minimalistic time. But my quest is not about uncertainties. It’s more about the spirit in us that's GOT THE KICKS!

The current recession, also dubbed The Depression 2.0, as you might be aware, has lead to the shutting down of many financial organizations, wrecked the finances of many top-of-the-riches-list billionaires, and at its worst, caused thousands to lose their jobs. As they say, bad times teach us things, as have these times done; they have showed us that each day is not sunshine and we must have the habit of saving for a rainy day.

As per my opinion, we must look for a job in our area of interest, instead of just blindly following our peers. After all, we all are engineers (almost there), and at least have an idea of what makes our adrenaline rush. I am not saying here to step into adventure sports (but if you feel it is your true calling, just go for it); my point here is that whatever you step into after college life should give a satiating feeling. For some of us, who live on the surreal edge of the world, it might be a bit hard to achieve, but that’s about it. Remember that nothing that one can think or hope for, that has or has not happened till today, is impossible and you very much have the potential of achieving whatever you wish to in every walk of life. Remember that ‘Dreams are the making of our Destiny’. Learn to dream and then work hard enough to turn your dreams into a reality. Sounding clichéd? It might feel so; but to be honest, this is what life is about. What is the whole point of life if you live in constant fear of failure and slog yourself while crushing all the pleasure out of your life? You guys might easily be creating virtual dementors (refer Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) in your life and sucking the ‘life’ out of your life. True enjoyment comes to you when you set out to seek what you want and give yourself to it till you get it. A lot can be said about it, but all that does matter is how many of us give ourselves to the goals that we make. Remember that money or pelf might seem goals as of now, as the youth within wishes to explore and seek the world, but soon all of it is going to sound crazy and stupid. Not just that, it has been discovered by researchers that by 35+, all that matters is satisfaction in the job and in the life. So what moot point do we wish to chase and by running after absolute blankness.

Come to think about it, about what you wish to achieve in life and what do you expect your life to give you as a trophy at the end of it all because money or moolah might seem prime as of now, but in the end, it doesn’t even matter.

Bhashkar Sharma, IT-IVth year

Well it's 11:30pm and the date is 1^st march 2008. It's a long time since dark shadow's have taken over the blue sky. The sun seems to have sunk deep and it seems it would never come on top again.

I am not sure but at this moment I feel to cry as hell, I really do not know what's the reason for such profound grief. Maybe the loss of my dearest dog “Montie”. It was really traumatic and heart throbbing emotions when I heard of my dog's death (from my sister at around 7:30pm).

He has been with us for 14 long years. I still remember the day when I and my brother brought him from my aunt's house, at that time he was just 22 days old, very sweet quiet puppy much like a toy. He was kept in a small poly-bag with his head popping out of it. He was brownish white with black patches around his eyelids and looked like a perfect creation for a puppy.

Since then he has always been with us (until today), in our griefs our sorrows, our joys. He was the favorite of my father, my grandmother both of whom always loved him more than anything. I think today they have finally called him to their place where one day each one has to go.

In my entire walk of life (still have to go far ahead) I have heard of people dying, myself experienced the death of closed one's. I am not able to understand this aspect of nature. Why did the god want us to die? If he wants so then why did he create us in the first place?? Why he wants other people to suffer grief over the death of their close one's? Well I think no one knows the answer but one thing is very sure that each one has to go through this phase of life or rather death.

I wrote like this because today I have lost my dearest one (my dog was more like a family member to us). I feel like splurging out my emotions on this very entry.

My mind is filled with every picture of him. His cute little little eyes, how I used to play with him, how he used to wag his tail whenever he saw anyone of us returning home.

I know I wont experience any of his such gestures from now onwards and this very thought leaves tears in my eyes.

I feel that god would have not created such rule of life and death, I experience this because I have lost someone special. Nothing can stop it, we as human beings have to bow down to the laws of nature, the laws of GOD.

“In memory of my cute little dog MONTIE”

Dated : 1^st Feb 2008

May God give peace to his soul

Vivek Bahuguna

E.T-Final Year

SCJP is one of these numerous certifications which Sun Microsystems provide, but is one of the hardest examinations in the IT industry till date.

SCJP that's for Sun Certified Java Programmer which says once you get this certification; the probability of getting placed becomes quite high 'coz it proves to your prospective employer; that you are one of those wiz kids, which are hard to find.

Its one of the toughest examinations in the IT industry which even most of these so called experienced programmers are not capable of cracking; that is because most of the time they don't study for it. So, once you get this hightly reputed certification there is no looking back.

It proves three things to your employer:

• You are “smart” or PRETTY

• You know how to prepare for a challenge test (which proves you never cheated in your exams)

• And you know how to speak.

  I mean JAVA is a LANGUAGE right!!

Currently there are 8 Java certifications but you can't even apply for them if you haven't passed this one.

It just needs 59% score to get through.

That's much for the importance. Lets talk how these 98% holders study for that exam.

They write a lot of code.
Most questions asked are related to debugging; in fact all of them.

You need to find the O/P (output) or obviously the error, it goes the either way.

You can simply read this book authored by Kathy Seirra and Bert Bates.

Name of the Book is.... Any Guesses??

SCJP Exam Study Guide (never mind, that indeed was a difficult one. :P)

It has got many questions and the same number of answers (don't go inside the mathematics of this statement.. Its complex)

But to study this book, you need to know the basics of Java before; only then try to mess with this book. After completing the book; start doing the mock paper.

Did I say paper?

Its not exactly a paper; its a CBT (Computer Based Test)

Just like GRE or like BITS paper you tried... BUT.... !!!

Its not over yet. Go to javaranch.com and search for more SCJP dump (Dump is a set of sample and previous time's questions).

Once you start debugging the problems even without reading them; its time to take the test.

“But do read them in the question paper. Don't be complacent.”

And not you don't get this SCJP “golden chance” for free.

Sylvan Prometrics is an organization which schedules these tests. They have their centers in literally every city in the world; though they are not in the villages yet. Well I don't care.

You can buy it from Sun's website java.sun.com or even these Sylvan guys can buy it for you.

It has a validity of 6-12 months and you can take it anytime between this interval (on the manufacturing date or the expiry)

Thanks a lot for your “Vella” time.

Need to know more!! Contact Sun Microsystems. Don't even dare to bother me.

Nishant Rawat, IT-C, 3^rd year.

All you lovelorn out there... ever gone through that excruciating activity in your brains that keeps on nipping at you for not getting those glances you have always longed for..??

Well.. mark my words there – Guys fall in love with their eyes while girls fall in love with their ears!! Truly! Alright, lets shape something fundamental which will definitely win you over your respectable counterparts.

For those Visiting us from Mars

• get yourself a “language tutor” or join an “English Speaking Course in 10days”.. Just kidding.
  Your better halves like it, when you talk sense.
  

• Make them feel they are extremely intelligent and smart.
  

• Get yourself a good pair of sneakers. This will add up to your C.Q. (= Coolness Quotient)
  

• Gone are those days when you spent hours, appreciating the unfathomable depth of their eyes. Believe me! They are much smarter now!! sophisticated way you carry yourself..” and alike....>
  

• Hygiene and neatness could be your biggest turn ons.

• Chivalry, my boys is one Knightly virtue which definitely gonna win you your lady-love.
  

Though the above stated ones are enough to set electro-pulses in their otherwise dormant neurons, you surely gotta have impeccable manners and a calm demeanor to sustain it.

Guys . Guys... I know that won't be a cake walk but then who said Love was easy!!

For those coming from Venus

Dear Venus inhabitants, though by the grace of nature, you need not make extra efforts, but your counterparts from Mars have risen from their slumber and have started loving somewhat with their ears.. Oh dear, don't sob...
Here are a few pointers you may find helpful.

• Never make yourself dumb in front of them or “I'm this little innocent child lost in this big crowd...”.
  

• Show them your humorous side.
  

• Get rid of your prima donna demeanors.
  

• As with guys you need to be neat and fragrant all the times.
  

• Most importantly – Be unpredictable and an ultra-amusing muse.

Alright! Folks, that wouldn't be a tough cookie for you to bite when the returns are …....

Legen... wait-for-it... Dary!!

Legendary!!

[Writer is a engineering student. Currently in IT-4^th year]

--JEAN.P.SASSON

“IT IS DIFFICULT TO APPRECIATE THE PRIVILEGES THAT WE HAVE UNTIL WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE CRUELTY AROUND THE WORLD....”

PRINCESS: A true story of life behind the veil in Saudi Arabia, describes the life of 'Sultana', a princess in the royal house of Saudi Arabia. The biography leads us from Sultana's childhood to adulthood, and with that we witness the horrific sense of male dominance in the Middle East. This book unfolds how Arabian men defy the Islamic decree (which allows polygamy, subjected to various terms and conditions. Eg. providing equal facilities to all the 4 Begums (wives) and manipulate the verses for their sexual gratification. The book is a chilling portrait of rank misogamy and hypocrisy. It reveals how young girls at a tender age of 13 or 14 years are compelled to many men 5 times their age. And then how their Shauhars (husbands) rape them under the legalized canopy of Nikaah (marriage). Sara (one of Sultana's Islamic sisters) was one such victim. With every passing chapter one will learn how women are killed by drowning, stoning or by isolating them in the room. The book is also very informative as it makes us aware of many Islamic words, various maps and laws of Saudi Arabia and most importantly, chronology.

--Maithili Massey

READER'S SPEAK:

• The story is an incredible insight of a women's struggle. I think this is a fantastic and heart warming book. It was so captivating a story that, while reading, it seemed to me as if i was out there watching it happen. The culture shock is disturbing. The whole thing made me shudder. I HIGHLY recommend it all to all the girls and to the boys as well. READ IT!! if you like to appreciate how lucky and free some of us women are! And also how helpless one can feel just reading about it. It is really eye opening and a reminder to the world that “EVERYTHING THAT GLITTER'S IS NOT GOLD....”.

This book certainly changed my views on the world and on my own life [as well].

--Maithili Massey

• The book opened in front of me, unimagined appalling life conditions of the women of the Gulf. It speaks volumes of the soul of a women named sultana who has been born and brought up in Arab royal family and has rebellious demeanor. The princess herself unveils the torturous life, which women in her country are subjected to. Education is a distant dream or not even a dream....... the polygamy imposed onto the poor little girl's and just entering their puberty and treated merely as heir producing machine's, is absolutely distasteful. The remarkable work puts a reality check and compels one to put off one's rose tinted glasses and see in the harsh real sunlight, how blessed one is to be born in a country like India, where women are put on a pedestal.

A recommended read for women of all ages.

--Swati Sati

IT-Final Year

• Princess turned out to be one of the most enthralling book's I have ever read. The courage, endurance and the indomitable spirit portrayed by the protagonist seemed quite incredible but coming from a native women it became believable. It is an absolutely unforgettable book which would touch any body's heart.
  
  I was very startled to read about the outrageous acts inflicted upon the women of Saudi Arabia.

--Monika Pandey

Civil-First Year

other books[sequels] by the author: Daughter's of Arabia (2^nd), Desert Royal (3^rd), Mayada

What I see is what I pen,
What I hear is what i dont understand.
GOLEMS ,we have turned into
We eat because we have to,
Sleep because mom tells to.

GRADES our life has become,
"GRADE ME! GRADE ME!!", another bookworm beckons!!!
One's with A's are the one's high,
B's and C's are on economy class flight..
And the poor D's and E's are just outclassed.

WHY dont we love what we do..
or rather why dont we do what we love.
Time we realise we arent free,
Time we stop celebrating INDEPENDENCE DAY,
its nothing but history.
And damn you stop looking for a rhyme...
I aint a cozy poet,
It aint a rosy jingle.

OPEN up your eyes...
Be what YOU wanna BE
not what THEY want you to be..
because what i see is ignorance,,
and this ignorance aint bliss.
WHAT i hear is words,
words surely not HIS.
and I AM A LOSER POET...
BECAUSE i have LOST IT!

[Contributed by: Vivek Saurav]

People say that changes are Inevitable... They perhaps are Imminent too!!

See carefully around the campus and u’ll find number of things changed. The roads have changed, the ADM block has changed, the gate has changed (no more confusing College Of Engineering Roorkee with SECURITY) ,even the WI-FI has changed (yeah it has, all access points are new now!) Above all, the Piya Milan Chowk a.k.a. PMC has shifted by precisely 18 steps. Like a number of COER monuments; the PMC holds its special place. It is the point of Unison (division also), it is the place of “HIIs”(BYEs also), it is a place where you wait(or MAKE someone else wait for you). It is the place where Hundreds of hearts were either broken or fixed at times like of Deep Sandhya (for those of you who don’t know, Deep Sandhya is like a MINI VALENTINE’s day of COER).

But there is specific Species called HOMO SINGLII for whom the PMC is like any other place. It is either a parking area or a place where a group of entirely separate Species called

HOMO IHaveAFuntooAndYouDon’tSoKeepStaringLoser! are usually seen chit-chatting in a very low voice as if they are discussing some matter of national security. For these HOMO SINGLII; PMC still has not changed much. For them the Gates of Tarawati have not come closer by 18 steps, but still there is hope for them. And this very hope pulls them to Café in their nicest of attire every evening at precisely 5.15. And just when the 2^nd or 3^rd whistle goes, they slowly start to walk towards their Forbidden Territory; the PMC where they find a number of couples having their last laughs of the evening & bidding goodnight to each other. And so they continue their journey. Journey into their Deep, Dark abyss called Hostels wherein only two things exists

Woh Aur unki TANHAYEE!

NOTE: The author and KNOL publishers are all HOMO SINGLII. And this TANHAYEE always makes us do crazy stuff like making KNOL or Writing for it.

Also you might be thinking why did I not write about the path from CAC to PMC where also

HOMO IHaveAFuntooAndYouDon’tSoKeepStaringLoser are usually seen doing healthy things like Girls walking with their hands folded & boys walking with their hands in their pockets(walking is good for health ), the reason is that I just signed a Pseudo Contract with KNOL people of articles on all special places of COER; so my series will continue in next KNOL(Hopefully)!

Till then, keep dressing up & going to Café. Who knows, you might just get lucky some day!

[contributed by: Mukul Saxena]