Mother Teresa Quotes

Mother Teresa was canonised (recognised by the church as a Saint) on 4 September 2016.

Below are some of my favorite quotations:

My Java Cookie Recipe

I was revising for my finals week, and then I came across Cookies in Java servlets...

Immediately, I googled the recipe and since it was quite simple, I decided to bake some.

Here's the "recipe":

import java.ingredients.*;
import java.ingredients.flour.*;
import java.ingredients.brownSugar.*;
import java.ingredients.egg.*;
import java.ingredients.butter.*;
import java.ingredients.vanillaEssence.*;
import java.ingredients.bakingPowder.*;
import java.ingredients.milk.*;
import java.ingredients.raisinOrChocolateChip.*;

public class createCookie extends BakingServlet 
{
      public void doBake(BakingServletRequest request, BakingServletResponse response)
      throws OverheatException
      {
           String data = request.getParameter("ingredients");
    
           Cookie cookie = new Cookie("MyCookies", data);
  
           response.bakeCookie(cookie);
  
           response.setContentTime("12min");

           PrintWriter pw = response.getWriter();

           pw.println("MyCookie has been baked...");
           pw.println("Serve with a glass of milk...");
  
           pw.close();
      }
}

Enjoy! xx

Operation Research: Simplex Calculator

This sem I'm studying OR (VTU: 10CS661), and I've found a really amazing online calculator (it also has an Android version) that can perform any simplex methods: standard one, Big-M, Two-Phase...

Here's the link to the online calc:

http://www.mathstools.com/section/main/simplex_online_calculator#.VTPWZiGqqko

Is exams a fair way to assess a student's capabilities?

1) Cheating

Nowadays, with all the technological innovations, cheating is kinda common... I'm pretty sure they're gonna develop 'Cheating Apps' soon...

Here's 50 ways of using technology to cheat:

http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/09/50-ways-technology-can-help-you-cheat/

2) You may fall sick, get hit by a car, suffer from emotional stress (someone close to you die) during exams...

And consequently, you waste a full year or semester!

3) Luck!

In my college for lab exams, students need to choose from a lot of questions... Obviously, if you're lucky enough you'll get a pretty easy question!

4) Do college authorities have anything to say about you passing or not?

Currently, I heard that someone occupying a rather important place at the college told a student: "Your Degree is in my hand!" 

It's like if they like they'll make you pass, otherwise, you're fcked!

5) Due to the exams pressure, do students really learn something at school or they just study to pass the exams? 

If programming language was an essay...

Bob Marley's Love Quote

"Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. 

You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. 

They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. 

There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. 

Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. 

Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. 

You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible.You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. 

You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life."

The Learning Process

There're many psychological definitions, flowcharts and diagrams to illustrate The Learning Process.

But for me, learning is the fact of increasing our knowledge coupled with applying whatever we've learnt in real-life situations.

How many times have you tried really hard to remember some complex mathematical formulae just to use it on the day of exam and forget all about it afterwards?

Studying just for the sake to clear out your exams ain't call studying... well, not that exams aren't important! But my point is, learning should be a fun, creative and innovative activity... Not the thought of being stuck in a classroom and checking your watch every 5 minutes wondering when the lectures would get over!

"Grades do not measure intelligence & age doesn't define maturity."

How to be a better person?

What does your facebook posts say about you?

What’s on your mind when you’re posting something on facebook? Well, depending on your moods, your facebook posts can be divided into irritating posts and non-annoying posts.

Non-Annoying Post- These can be funny or informative.

Funny Posts:

Informative Status Update:

1. Traffic jam at Pheonix.

2. No school today due to torrential rainfall.

Annoying posts

There can be many reasons for posting an annoying facebook status. The main reasons are:

1. Forging your image

2. To induce jealousy

3. Attention craving

4. Narcissism

1. Image Forging- The user wants to change the perception his facebook friends have towards him.

• Yayy! I passed my first semester exams!
• Guess who finally got her driving licence? :D
• Thank you Krista for the amazing day <3 nbsp="">
• Off to Buddha Bar tonite!
• Seemingly, you can now clear your engineering exams drunk :P

Statistically, only 10% of your facebook friends care about what you post! Consequently, 90% don’t give a damn whether you’ve cleared your papers or where you’re going to spend your weekends!

2. To induce jealousy

• Post picture of your new car/apartment/girlfriend
• Hawaii here I come!

I guess facebook is  the place where you can make your friends/ex-es envious of your life!

3. Attention Craving

• ... is cleaning my room!
• What a horrible day!

Some people use facebook cos they’re feeling lonely, but that doesn’t mean you need to post any shitty thing that is happening in your life every minute!

Now, some users would just look at the comments without responding to any of it, and he even likes when ppl are commenting. Others, would eventually elaborate what hap on that day. And there are others, who would continue keeping on the mystery until he’s got many likes and comments…

•  Thank you @blaah @blaah @blaah @blaah for everything you’ve done. All these years of bla bla bla and bla…

This type of user would tag his friends for every little unimportant things!

4. Narcissism- The user likes to brag about his thoughts, his life...

• Pizza!
• Off to KFC, then the beach, then home…
• It's raining!!!

There’re some people who just as soon as they’ve reached somewhere they would update their status:

• I’m having coffee @some_place with @some_people

Seriously, what are you trying to show when you’ve checked in at some place? If you really were having fun, you would not be updating your status simultaneously. I guess facebook was created to be used when you don’t have anything to do, and not to be used as a personal diary!

Before facebooking it*

• I just finished my dissertation!

You finished your paper, so wat? Do you need a medal?

• Posts some news happening around the world: war in that country, presidential election in that country, statistics on global warming, football matches score...

We’ve got newspapers and news websites for that!

• Publishing some quotes from Einstein, Buddha, Jobs, Gates…  

Ok fine you find a post inspiring, and you think by sharing it with your friends, your friends would become more motivated? You want to inspire them, do something inspiring, don't use others quotes! Some people just post these things to craft their image; they want people to see how inspiring you are!

In a nutshell, there're different types of facebook users and somewhere even we've published annoying fb posts!

Here are some other facebook-related post that you might like:

http://velocity93.blogspot.com/2011/08/type-of-facebook-users-status.html

http://velocity93.blogspot.com/2011/05/effect-of-social-networking-sites-on.html

http://velocity93.blogspot.com/2013/08/mood-swings-due-to-facebook.html

lhttp://velocity93.blogspot.com/2013/01/facebookpersonal-diary.html

Just a little 'womanly' thought...

Women have been facing sexual discrimination since the early ages, and even if today they are allowed to vote in some countries, they are still not considered to be equal to ‘men’.

Nowadays, in our so called ‘modern society’, some women still do not have the right to go to school. It’s as if women were put on this planet only to reproduce, to stay at home and cater for the needs of his husband and children.

Furthermore, women have been depicted as being ‘sex-objects’.  In most porn movies, it is the woman who is being dominated and treated like a sex-slave. Not only virtually, but all around the world, sex crimes and rapes are on the rise.

What excuses do men have? She was not decently dressed? She was walking alone at night?

Due to these narrow-minded people, women are more afraid of going out, to do whatever they want to do; they are being deprived of their Rights. Rights to be free! Rights to express themselves! Rights to lead a normal life like any normal ‘man’.

It’s high time we start changing our mindset about women being the weaker sex but rather considering them as equal counterparts. Small acts  when multiplied by millions of people can change the world :)

“A woman brought you into this world, so you have no right to disrespect one!”

Grandmas’ training to be Solar Engineers in India

In a little village in the state of Rajasthan in India, there exists a college, Barefoot College, active since 40 years already.

In this college, most of its students are grandmothers from the Least Developed Countries of the world (Asia, Africa & the Pacific Islands), who had left their families for a 6 months training to become solar engineers.

Objective of the College: Train exploited poor rural inhabitants to become self-independent women and live with dignity and self-respect (Equality of Women)!

After obtaining their diploma, they would take homes the solar lanterns they’ve built and use their newfound knowledge and skills to help in the development of the villages from where they’ve come from.

The college works under the Gandhian Principle:

Finally, at night, most of the children gather around a big solar lantern and the college provides night schooling to these children, since during the day they have to help their parents in the fields.

Self-Descriptive Image

Sometime a single picture can convey soo many messages:

Are you grateful for what you have?

How many times do you halt your busy schedule and appreciate what you have? There are many things we should be grateful for, but nowadays, we take most of these things for granted.

"We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives." -John F. Kennedy

When I was a kid, I took almost everything for granted, but as I grew up, I learn to enjoy every little thing that life could offer.

Take education for example… Here in Mauritius, school is compulsory but some people don’t realize how lucky they are to be literate; some people might think that being educated is part of their basic Rights, but, it is more likely to be a gift, an opportunity, a privilege…

“An attitude of gratitude brings great things.”  -Yogi Bhajan

There are tons of things to be grateful for: your life, your family and friends, your health, nature, technology, to be able to read this post right now… some people don’t even have a decent place to live and here you are, at your desk, using a PC or cell with an INTERNET CONNECTION!!!

 “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” - Cynthia Ozick

Have you ever noticed the more you get familiar to someone or some situation in your life, you are more likely to take it for granted? Sometimes, we ought to give more attention and show more gratitude to these things…

Be more thankful for this amazing world we are living in... Even if sometimes you are going through a tough time, remember there's always tons of reasons to be grateful for in life.

One day before exams...

What do you do one day before exams?..

Relax cos u already studied ealier and yu just need to quickly go through your notes??

Well...

Personally, I wait for the last minute to revise & every fckin time I'll be askin myself the same questn: "Why didnt i start studyin earlier?"

Has it ever occured to you to do all the dumbest, random stuffs the eve before exams rather than actually studying?

I mean only during the exams week, we will want to watch all our favorites tv shows, painting your room, painting your nails, play games, clean up the house, bath your pet, SLEEEEP, procrastinate...

-----------------------

1 week before exams --> XD

4 days before exams --> :D

2 days before exams --> :)

1 day before exams --> :S

Night before exams --> :(  :'(  :@ :@ !!!@@@ :'(

Every fckin time!!!

Internet.org

Internet.org – Imagine a world where the Internet connects us all

This new project with the collaboration of Facebook, Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm & Samsung, is targeting on making the internet accessible to everyone using their cell phones, thus reducing the digital divide between developed countries and developing countries.

Currently, only one third of the global population has access to the internet!

The statement said: "Potential projects inclide developing data compression tools, enhancing network capabilities to more effiiciently handle data, building systems to cache data efficiently and creating frameworks for apps to reduce data usage."

Certes, this is a very good initiative, specially to countries where internet access is expensive!

But take the African continent for example, they have other urgencies to deal in with first: food, health, education, electricityyyyyy!!!

It would be like: “Ok I don’t have food nor shelter but at least I’m connected to the internet!”

Finally, is it because the digital markets in developed countries have become saturated that those companies want to spread out to developing ones, or is it because they really want the nation to be connected via the Internet? 

More information on:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/21/214117156/tech-giants-launch-internet-org-a-global-plan-to-widen-access

http://www.internet.org/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23779172

Mood swings due to Facebook

Scientists have confirmed that using Facebook can make you feel miserable in the sense that it can reduce your sense of well-being and satisfaction with life.

 

 Most people use Facebook when they are feeling lonely because it makes them feel like they have a lot of friends out there! They just log onto the site & scroll up & down their newsfeed and, instantly, seeing some posts, these might cheer up their mood or, make them unhappy.

Stuffs that might cheer up your mood:

1. New Friend Request(s) or Subscribers

2. New message (specially from your crush :p)

3. Notifications about someone commenting or liking your posts

4. Seeing a funny troll on your newsfeed

Stuffs that might worsen up your mood:

1. No friend request, no message.

2. Notifications only about game requests or stuffs…

3. Seeing pictures of your friends/family having more fun than you.

4. Seeing your crush/partner liking or commenting on someone else’s pictures/posts.

5. Seeing couples uploading pictures while you’re single or you’ve just broken-up with you bf/gf.
6. Nobody liked your status, picture or whatsoever.

There’s a theory known as FOMO-Fear Of Missing Out: a side effect of seeing friends and family sitting on the beaches or having fun at parties while you are on a computer.

Well, using Facebook may make us feel more connected but it does not necessarily make us happy. 

Relationship nowadays...

These days, due to the increase in the number of social networking sites, relationships are becoming harder.

Whether you’ve met your partner online or in real-life, there is one little thing that you should give to ‘validate’ your bond: your Facebook Password.

It’s like the gf/bf want to have total control over that person’s account: with whom he’s/she’s chatting, whose pictures they are commenting on and all that stupid shit...

It’s like, liking or commenting on someone’s else picture is more pernicious than actually sleeping with someone else!

Moreover, everything has become kind of virtual:

- You seldom meet!

- Most of your conversations take place over skype, text messages, IM...

- You fight over the phone!

- Your feelings become status update on facebook – its like announcing their problem to the world instead of the person they have a problem with…

Well, maybe its time for us to get out of this virtual world and go outside, meet people, talk & all that kind of stuffs: A real relationship :)

Make your Job Interesting

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it." -Steve Jobs

What was your childhood ambition/dream job? Is it the job you're exercising right now?

Very often, we end up at a post that we do not like at all. Maybe cos that's the only available job or financial issues or other stuffs...

But no mattter what your job is, you can always try and make it interesting:

The Tuned Out Programmer

Two computer programmers are explaining how they go about doing their job, designing programs to fill the pressing business needs of their clients. 

Recounts one: "I heard him say he needed all the data in a simple format that could fit in one page." So the programmer followed through and deliver just that.

The second programmer, however, seems to have trouble getting to the point. Unlike the first programmer, he doesn't mention the needs of this clients. Instead he launches into a litany of technical talk: "The HP3000/30's BASIC compiler was too slow, so I went directly to a machine-language routine." In other words, he focuses on machines not people.

The first programmer was identified as outstanding at his work, able to design programs that are user-friendly; the second is at best mediocre at this task - he has essentially tuned out his customers. 

The first computer programmer displays emotional intelligence; the other exemplifies its absence.

Both were interviewed using a method developed by McClelland to detect the competencies that distinguish star performers in jobs of every kind.

Source: Working with Emotional Intelligence. A book by Daniel Goleman

Conclusion: Technical expertise isn't enough to excel at any work, you should also be emotionally intelligent, have good communication skills and have a passion for what you're doing.

Choosing your Career

Some children already have an idea about what job they want to do when they'll grow up or atleast in what field they want to be. Others will discover that during their journey in High School. Yet, there are still some students who don't know into what field they should pursue their tertiary education even after completing their Higher Studies. 

Certes, there are Career Guidance fairs, but are these really useful? Whenever I've been to a career guidance fair, I would just look for the stalls where they would offer free pen, notepad, sweets and stuffs!

How some students choose their University Course?

1. Childhood's Ambition/Dream.

2. You're passionate about that field.

3. You would get a highly-paid salary.

4. Your parents forced you.

5. The university rejected your application for a particular field, so you just joined any available courses.

6. Most of your friends signed up for that course.

Moreover, there are some students, despite having majored in a particular field, they completely changed career afterwards. Maybe because there's no job available in their field or maybe they majored in the wrong field.

Finally, there are some people who despite having no Diploma/Degree but who are really successful.

In a nutshell, think well before joining any particular course and don't let yourself be influence by anyone...  And, it feels much better to do what we have  passion for, even if the rewards are greater elsewhere...