Surely,living and existing must mean different things...Putting it simply,living is purposeful existence. Purpose here can be defined dynamically and relatively. The action that seems purposeful to me when I was 15 may not seem all that purposeful at 30 or 40...And the same thing might not at all be termed purposeful by some other person. Perceptions differ. Time and experience are other factors that influence what a purposeful action is for us.
So, why at all do we need a purposeful existence..? A purposeful existence lends a direction to life...It is really a pleasure to proceed in a direction, that is determined by your goals, and tackle the barriers that come your way and ultimately succeed.
In whatever way one defines purpose, it takes guts and motivation to see it to it that the purpose is achieved at the end of the day...! That is because, 'living' does not stop with identifying a purpose...It only starts there.....
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Monday, September 27, 2004
On luck and being lucky!
What is luck? I havent been able to come up with a proper definition but there are a few things that, I think, are normally associated with something or someone being 'lucky'...
The first is the prior history of the case(!) in question. Consider an object, say a hanky, if it has brought 'luck', some 8 out of 10 times it was carried, then it becomes 'lucky'! This means, the probability of something being 'lucky' (or 'unlucky') is a measure of its frequency of its use..(lol!!!)That brings us to an interesting point. Does this imply that the more we use an object, there is a greater tendency to classify it as 'lucky' or 'unlucky'?! Not really, we do not associate 'good luck' or 'ill-luck' with ALL the things that we frequently use. One's only pair of slippers may be 'unclassified' whereas the colour of the shirt may be classified as bringing 'good or bad luck'! Thus, the basis for classification of objects cannot be quantified in simple terms...
So much for 'lucky' objects. As for people being considered 'lucky',they either get what they want (or what WE want) with little or no effort (according to US!). There also exists another basis for classification. The guy who went out for a walk and came back to find his office at WTC destroyed is 'lucky'. The man who was run over by a bus when he was on the pavement is definitely 'unlucky'..These indicate that certain situations and their effects on humans influence the classification..!
However difficult it may be to define 'luck' or being 'lucky', I believe luck(!) exists...How then can you explain how you passed when you hardly studied (lol!!!)or how miserably you failed after burning a good deal of midnight oil!!!Ok..you might say,you were smart in the first case and didnt put in quality effort in the second case...but then...in each case, it could have happened the other way...Why did it happen THAT way..?!!
Just 'luck'...pure 'luck'!!
This was begun with something in mind...that got lost midway...blame the proj and my laziness!! ;-) just luck!
The first is the prior history of the case(!) in question. Consider an object, say a hanky, if it has brought 'luck', some 8 out of 10 times it was carried, then it becomes 'lucky'! This means, the probability of something being 'lucky' (or 'unlucky') is a measure of its frequency of its use..(lol!!!)That brings us to an interesting point. Does this imply that the more we use an object, there is a greater tendency to classify it as 'lucky' or 'unlucky'?! Not really, we do not associate 'good luck' or 'ill-luck' with ALL the things that we frequently use. One's only pair of slippers may be 'unclassified' whereas the colour of the shirt may be classified as bringing 'good or bad luck'! Thus, the basis for classification of objects cannot be quantified in simple terms...
So much for 'lucky' objects. As for people being considered 'lucky',they either get what they want (or what WE want) with little or no effort (according to US!). There also exists another basis for classification. The guy who went out for a walk and came back to find his office at WTC destroyed is 'lucky'. The man who was run over by a bus when he was on the pavement is definitely 'unlucky'..These indicate that certain situations and their effects on humans influence the classification..!
However difficult it may be to define 'luck' or being 'lucky', I believe luck(!) exists...How then can you explain how you passed when you hardly studied (lol!!!)or how miserably you failed after burning a good deal of midnight oil!!!Ok..you might say,you were smart in the first case and didnt put in quality effort in the second case...but then...in each case, it could have happened the other way...Why did it happen THAT way..?!!
Just 'luck'...pure 'luck'!!
This was begun with something in mind...that got lost midway...blame the proj and my laziness!! ;-) just luck!
Monday, September 20, 2004
Looooong time no blogging!!!
Never knew I'd become this busy..(!)It's actually not the project...which by now,has seen more installations and uninstallations than actual work..It's not that I installed and re-installed for the heck of it...I was ASKED to do that!!! Whenever something didnt work as it was supposed to, the universal solution seemed to be 'Uninstall..restart (if needed)and re-install!!' Though this tactic fixed some errors..it also made matters worse in some cases...I would have laughed at the whole idea of fixing a bug by just uninstalling and reinstalling...but now that seemed the easiest way out!!!
Once I had to install a toolkit, and there was this irksome message on its console..'Product not installed/configured properly'...There wasnt a great response when I uninstalled and re-installed...It still gave the same error! The error details were all too esoteric. Something failed and some nice huge dotted expression exception...(someone's throwing and catching code was now working!!!)...I decided not to rely on the 'technical details'...which only depressed me further..java.lang.etc.etc..was definitely not a great help to install a silly toolkit! I tried finding some 'leads'...At the end of some 2 hours...I had something to work on..'some plugin.xml' was the culprit..!I ran a search for that god forsaken xml document....The things that stared at me on the screen sent a cold shiver down my spine...What nonsense!!! what is the ERROR here?!!
Frankly, the whole document made little sense...some plugin, some version and some other incomprehensible stuff...all within strange tags!
A cup of coffee was invigorating...!!! Deciding to rely on my common sense,I went through the xml doc again...ignoring all the things that didnt make sense the first time! All of a sudden, my eyes fell on something seemingly innocuous...'version=2.0.1'...Nonchalantly, I clicked the folder I had installed the zipped executable in....what I saw, was most exhilarating! the toolkit was version 2.1.0...and here was the statement that made the whole install a nightmare!!! I was already feeling like a pro..(lol!!!)with that ingenious troubleshooting!! When I changed the version and restarted...nothing happened for a while..After what seemed like eternity...'updated plugin.xml,error in config' was the message on the console!
This is going to require more skills,I thought...Unwilling to give up, I decided to uninstall, re-install and then make the changes...just for one last time...
After some 20 minutes,one more cup of coffee (this time black!) and loads of prayers...I got to see the error-free console message...'Product installed properly, config saved..blah blah..' I was filled with a deep sense of victory...and decided that I had done a great deal of work for the day and left the place!
The next morning, my mentor called me for a meeting...'should not forget to tell him about last evening's episode..' I made a mental note....and marched triumphantly to his cube..He asked what I had been upto, whether I had installed the toolkit and if I had started using the toolkit...With a sense of purpose, I began..'Sir,I had lots of problems in installation...'He patiently listened to the whole story..( minus, of course, the coffees and chilling-out phone calls I made!) On hearing the whole episode, he said..'Good Work! keep it up..' and continued..'Are you sure there was no mention of it in the README?'....that caught me unawares..Not wanting to seem careless, I said, 'No Sir, there was no mention about it!'...'Fine then..carry on..' and I vanished out of his cube! I returned to my machine and checked the README, just to see what it had, apart from the usual instructions...At the end of it, a small line in italics caught my attention..I didnt remember seeing it the first time I read the README...It said..'Please check the version numbers in all plugin and feature files before running the application'!!!!!
I was only glad that my mentor, a busy person, would most likely not find the time to download the toolkit, install it AND read the README!
Once I had to install a toolkit, and there was this irksome message on its console..'Product not installed/configured properly'...There wasnt a great response when I uninstalled and re-installed...It still gave the same error! The error details were all too esoteric. Something failed and some nice huge dotted expression exception...(someone's throwing and catching code was now working!!!)...I decided not to rely on the 'technical details'...which only depressed me further..java.lang.etc.etc..was definitely not a great help to install a silly toolkit! I tried finding some 'leads'...At the end of some 2 hours...I had something to work on..'some plugin.xml' was the culprit..!I ran a search for that god forsaken xml document....The things that stared at me on the screen sent a cold shiver down my spine...What nonsense!!! what is the ERROR here?!!
Frankly, the whole document made little sense...some plugin, some version and some other incomprehensible stuff...all within strange tags!
A cup of coffee was invigorating...!!! Deciding to rely on my common sense,I went through the xml doc again...ignoring all the things that didnt make sense the first time! All of a sudden, my eyes fell on something seemingly innocuous...'version=2.0.1'...Nonchalantly, I clicked the folder I had installed the zipped executable in....what I saw, was most exhilarating! the toolkit was version 2.1.0...and here was the statement that made the whole install a nightmare!!! I was already feeling like a pro..(lol!!!)with that ingenious troubleshooting!! When I changed the version and restarted...nothing happened for a while..After what seemed like eternity...'updated plugin.xml,error in config' was the message on the console!
This is going to require more skills,I thought...Unwilling to give up, I decided to uninstall, re-install and then make the changes...just for one last time...
After some 20 minutes,one more cup of coffee (this time black!) and loads of prayers...I got to see the error-free console message...'Product installed properly, config saved..blah blah..' I was filled with a deep sense of victory...and decided that I had done a great deal of work for the day and left the place!
The next morning, my mentor called me for a meeting...'should not forget to tell him about last evening's episode..' I made a mental note....and marched triumphantly to his cube..He asked what I had been upto, whether I had installed the toolkit and if I had started using the toolkit...With a sense of purpose, I began..'Sir,I had lots of problems in installation...'He patiently listened to the whole story..( minus, of course, the coffees and chilling-out phone calls I made!) On hearing the whole episode, he said..'Good Work! keep it up..' and continued..'Are you sure there was no mention of it in the README?'....that caught me unawares..Not wanting to seem careless, I said, 'No Sir, there was no mention about it!'...'Fine then..carry on..' and I vanished out of his cube! I returned to my machine and checked the README, just to see what it had, apart from the usual instructions...At the end of it, a small line in italics caught my attention..I didnt remember seeing it the first time I read the README...It said..'Please check the version numbers in all plugin and feature files before running the application'!!!!!
I was only glad that my mentor, a busy person, would most likely not find the time to download the toolkit, install it AND read the README!
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Excuse me....
That day started off like any other.And went on like any other too...what came at the end of it was most disheartening. It was on this day that me and a friend of mine decided to have a look at Kempe Fort...something we were asked 'not to miss'...especially the majestic Lord Shiva housed in that complex...
It was a such a tough day at PS...Already looking half dead and totally famished we showed up at the doors of Kempe Fort!....
We first went to some 'imported gift items ' section that was awesome! and then to the various other sections....It was at the footwear section that the unthinkable happened...Not really keen on the different types of footwear(!!!)..I was staring into space waiting for my friend to make her selection....Suddenly, quite out of the blue...a voice called out from close quarters 'Excuse me...' It wasnt clear whether it was addressed to me or not...After all, there were so many other people there!!! I decided to give myself the benefit of doubt...and took a few steps towards the next section...'Excuse me..Excuse me...' The voice seemed to follow me...this time, there was a chappal in sight, being waved frantically at me...That made be thoroughly disconcerted...and I found myself glaring at the woman who had the guts to commit such an atrocious act...!Before I could even open my mouth...'How much do these cost???' Her question angered me all the more...Who did she think I was??? A salesgirl?? Nonsense!!!!
One part of me went mad with rage and wanted to scream and tear the woman's head off...while the other part...giving a wry smile..said..'It was just a mistake!'
Noticing the look on my face, the lady had one of those sudden enlightenments...'I'm realllllly sorry...verrrrry verrrry sorry....' and it went on for some time...'It's alright..' I said and forced a smile...!
Blessed is he who learns to laugh at himself...! I realized how true that is!!!
Later,when I got to see the REAL salesgirls...Man!!I WAS astonished...They were more hep than anybody else in the complex...!!!! Strange are the ways of the world!
It was a such a tough day at PS...Already looking half dead and totally famished we showed up at the doors of Kempe Fort!....
We first went to some 'imported gift items ' section that was awesome! and then to the various other sections....It was at the footwear section that the unthinkable happened...Not really keen on the different types of footwear(!!!)..I was staring into space waiting for my friend to make her selection....Suddenly, quite out of the blue...a voice called out from close quarters 'Excuse me...' It wasnt clear whether it was addressed to me or not...After all, there were so many other people there!!! I decided to give myself the benefit of doubt...and took a few steps towards the next section...'Excuse me..Excuse me...' The voice seemed to follow me...this time, there was a chappal in sight, being waved frantically at me...That made be thoroughly disconcerted...and I found myself glaring at the woman who had the guts to commit such an atrocious act...!Before I could even open my mouth...'How much do these cost???' Her question angered me all the more...Who did she think I was??? A salesgirl?? Nonsense!!!!
One part of me went mad with rage and wanted to scream and tear the woman's head off...while the other part...giving a wry smile..said..'It was just a mistake!'
Noticing the look on my face, the lady had one of those sudden enlightenments...'I'm realllllly sorry...verrrrry verrrry sorry....' and it went on for some time...'It's alright..' I said and forced a smile...!
Blessed is he who learns to laugh at himself...! I realized how true that is!!!
Later,when I got to see the REAL salesgirls...Man!!I WAS astonished...They were more hep than anybody else in the complex...!!!! Strange are the ways of the world!
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