Rants archive at Collage in Decay

Archive for the 'Rants' Category

Jan

Why don’t Engineering colleges have a student union?

By Toxic}{ermit 12 Comments

Categories: College and Rants

Maybe I should rephrase that to ‘Why don’t the majority of engineering colleges affiliated to Anna University have a student union?’. This has been bothering me for one very good reason. Every Arts and Science College I see has one and they seem to do some pretty good stuff. Even with a 3 year course schedule they manage to find time for student unions and week long culturals while engineering colleges despite their 4 year course can just about find time for a one day symposium. I just don’t get it.

Lack of time due to a cluttered course schedule isn’t an excuse. Technically, we’ve got a whole extra year to work things into the schedule. No one in their right senses would say that there isn’t a need for a student union. On an average, Engineering colleges charge more than Arts and Science colleges so funding shouldn’t be a problem. So there, they’ve got the need, the time, the money and the students. Whats their problem then?

Another sad observation is that its becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish a symposium from a carnival. Nobody ever discusses anything worthwhile and half the time the food is what is most interesting. Its heartening though, to see IITM get it right. They seem to know exactly what they’re doing when organising Saarang and Shaastra. Why can’t their model be replicated? They’ve shown it can be done.

Jan

Project Work. Supposedly.

By Toxic}{ermit 16 Comments

Categories: Musings and Rants

I get a day off from college to do project work. I’m supposed to come up with an idea I’m interested in and then work on implementing that idea. Nice! Really. Of the 8 semesters that I’m expected to be in college I was hoping that this semester would be the most interesting.

Interesting ideas are not hard to come by. I can’t say the same about reasonable professors. I don’t mind if my ideas are shot down because they aren’t feasible or are completely insane but rejecting it because some senior did something similar last year or because it’s mostly a simulation or because it’s a term they’ve heard of and hence its not cutting edge enough? Seriously, WTF?!

The best recommendation they could give me was to go to a project centre. After spending a month trying to convince them that I could do a project on my own and failing miserably, I finally go to a project centre. These people hand you a booklet with projects that are nicely categorised under headings like IEEE, Embedded Systems, Networking, Communication, VLSI. How nice? Like vegetables arranged in your neighbourhood grocery they’ve got everything all nicely arranged for your picking. You listen to their rehearsed, almost retarded explanation of the project, pick a project that sucks the least and pay up. Ask them what you’re expected to do and their answer is (translating quote from Tamil to English) “cash apart, you’re expected to attend classes and not mess with the kit once it’s handed to you (smile)”. And to think the project costs 20,000 bucks. They’re fleecing us and I can’t do a damn thing about it. The only consolation is that I’m assured of my project being accepted and a ‘guarantee’ that it’ll work.

Anna University finally lets us do something creative and my college goes and screws it all up. Another sem wasted. I’m not sure what I feel right now. I’ve run out semesters to make my college education worthwhile but that would also mean I’m done with this whole load of crap. Oh well, one less day of college per week. I guess I should be glad.

Dec

Spendthrift?! Me?!!

By Toxic}{ermit 14 Comments

Categories: Internet, Musings and Rants

Woah! I was looking through my PayPal account and I notice that over the past year I’ve spent $126 on stuff other than hosting. Now, hosting is a cost that I’m conscious of and willing to pay but 126 dollars on other stuff? Ridiculous. I don’t buy much online! Or so I thought.

The only big purchase was a gift I bought my brother for his birthday since I figured it was better to buy something online and have it shipped to him in the US rather than buy the same here and ship it myself. Another small portion was a few donations I gave out. Apart from those every other purchase was $10 or less.

Seeing that I don’t get much in the first place I’d better start managing what little I have better. I’ve never thought of myself a spendthrift. I’m way better handling physical cash and real bank accounts than online money. I think the problem lies with me subconsciously thinking of online cash as play money. (Reminds me, I used to be pretty good at Monopoly, Mayfair was always mine)

In other news, I’ve got a verified PayPal account. So now even the sending limits can’t stop me from spending.

Nov

Collisions. Lots of them.

By Toxic}{ermit 3 Comments

Categories: Freaky, Funny, Rants and Travel

I was driving around the city yesterday and you wouldn’t believe the sheer number of collisions I saw. I never kept track of them but offhand I can count at least ten. Apart from the normal bumps and not so subtle nudges, there were a few that were either weird, gruesome, funny (excuse my sense of humour) or just plain dumb.

First, I saw a car while trying to overtake another, went a bit too far and got one wheel over the stone dividers. The car went a small distance before colliding with a metal barricade that the police generally stick wherever they fancy. This was on the road between Gandhi Mandapam and Kotturpuram.

Next, at some place in Nungambakkam, a speeding moped turns sharply, whacks a guy standing near a median to cross the road and then smacks right in to a lady that was standing by the side of the road facing the opposite direction. Like all good citizens of India, the people nearby crowd around her to make sure any thought of fresh air is pointless. An auto driver, who eventually took her to the hospital, had to practically fight his way through the crowd that was unwilling to give up their ring side view of the setting.

On a calm street in K.K Nagar there was this rather hilarious incident. A guy while riding his cycle was talking on his cellphone. He cycles right in to this open manhole and his front wheel gets stuck in it. Now, he wasn’t going particularly fast or anything but for some reason his back wheel lifts up in the air, swings to the left and he falls off his cycle and lands on a pile of coconuts stacked by the side of the road (The usual piles next to a coconut water vendor). The funny part was the expression on his face (kinda half shock, half glee that he’s still alive) while lying on a pile of coconuts and that he was still clutching his cellphone and I could hear that someone else was screaming on the other end. I helped him get his front wheel unstuck. I’m not sure he appreciated it though, maybe because I was laughing my head off right before that.

Lastly, the not so funny part, I’m waiting for the signal to turn green at the L.B Road - Sardar Patel road junction when some jerk decides that the best way to take a u-turn is by trying to power slide in to my bike and then get to the opposite side on the rebound. Total moron. Not only did he topple my bike and jam the kick start lever, he also managed to attract the cops. Luckily there were enough bystanders around that could explain what happened without me trying to do so in my pseudo-tamil. Actually, now that that I think of it, they never even gave me a chance. Not that I mind.

The whole thing seemed so unreal. A few accidents every now and then is normal in Madras but that many on roads that hardly support speeds of greater than 40 kmph? Seriously, I’m taking out the car next time. If someone wants an early end, at least I won’t have to tag along.

May

Stem Cell Cartoon

By Toxic}{ermit 12 Comments

Categories: Funny, Musings and Rants

I’ve got bleddy exams now and its around this time that I’m at my most annoyed and bitter mood. To refrain from making savage four letter descriptions about exams, anna university and the loon that heads it, I’ll try to concentrate on telling you people that I won’t be updating much during this time. I hardly feel like doing anything online when I’ve got exams. Its this horrible feeling deep inside, something like the guy in ‘A Clockwork Orange’. Maybe worse.

Ok people, go on now, enjoy yourselves.

Testing