I'm now Googleable !!

Hey all you good people,

Lots of good things happening today.

ADS exam studying is going well.. not understanding much but learning by rote all the way. Can't be helped I gues...

Got my old scanner (Acer ScanPrisa 640P) to work with Xp after ages and ages of trying. Blasted thing was meant for win 98 and after much hard work and some .ini file editing, and some funky file replacement I have got those blasted Twain drivers to work on Xp.

So expect a whole new bunch of snaps to start appearing on my blogs !

Just for kicks today, I typed in my full name into google without quotes around the name and .. My Personal blog was the first link on the list !! As of this post, if you type "Nigel Fernandes" with the quotes, or without the quotes, My blog is the first link on google.

All this without any SEO or SEM !! Unfortunately, Yahoo has yet to index me. But I have a solution for that. I intend to add a link to my blog to my devshed signature. That should get my blog registered on most major search engines within 2 days.

Many thanks to Jonathan Caputo of Devshed for allowing the first link in a signature to not have" rel=no follow tags".

Not that any of this matters though, because my blogs are purely non profit.

But it feels nice to be able to say to anyone.."If you want to know more about me, just type my name into google.."

Virus Warning on Comp Rules Yahoo Group

Hey folks,

Just a quick shout to all you guys who subscribe to the comp_rule yahoo mailing list. Be warned that a couple of the groups members notably Anay and Ralston have been infected with a worm+virus combination that spreads via email. I do not know the extent of the infection on their PC's but the worm/virus has snagged their address books I belive. It has mailed the group from them, with an email subject header "Must see this video" or somethign like that.

My AVG email scanner picked it up and elliminated the threat from the email as my Outlook express downloaded it. Those of you who open it in your browsers may not be so lucky.

If you have opened it, please run your full Virus Scans etc.. and check for traces of infection.

I think Anay has realised this, because my inbox now shows another mail from him with big letters.. heheh .. later folks
Nigel

Just another small note..

Hey folks..

Just a few small notes:

A big hello and welcome to the blogs latest members: Lyle, Jessel, Maya and Neelima.
Hope to see many contributions from you guys !

A couple of new blogs have been added to the side bar list alongside. Jessel's Jungle, Ralstons bike Blog, and my own Ticklish Zombies. Please feel free to visit anytime..

Those of you who are new to Blogging, should check out Anay's post in this blog on methods of blogging, and the comments I have left on that post.

All the best people..

What kind of Super Hero/Heroine would you be ?

Ok folks.. In my wanderings of the net,I came across a great site
http://marvelvc.com.br/Hero

The site has a flash based little application which allows you to create a cartoon image of your choice and taste. You can customise lots of features from skin color, to clothing, to hair, to eyes, eybrows and even socks !!

here's my creation heheh.. amazing aye!!

Hmm.. Do we need a comp rules official logo ?

Just an idea i thought I would throw your way..

Does the comp rules blog need an official logo ?

I whipped this one up a few minutes ago when I came online.. feedback would of course be appreciated.. be as harsh as you want to be ;-)

FiberOptic Ltd. comes and goes..

Hi everybody!

Just to follow up on my earlier post, I thought I would blog my views on the company that came and went. FiberOptic Ltd. is a Goa based manufacturing plan, and a child company of the MK Birla group headquatered in Madhya Pradesh.

Personally I felt the company and their job offer fell below my expectations. Every job offered is an opportunity, and it must be seen as that. For those who get through I wish you all the best and I hope you have an amazing time there. Every company has its plus points and I'm sure this one does too. As a rule of thumb one must never scorn a companies offer... Everything in the job market is a boon/blessing.

But I did not like much of today's placement drive. The company was first of all very very late in reaching. Secondly the presentation was rather poor and failed to impress. Thirdly the company management who came there seem to repeat the point that the company had little or no ambition. They repeatedly stated that all their executive decisions came from the parent company in MP, and that 70% of their produce went to the parent company's other concerns in MP.

This gave me the feeling that FiberOptic Ltd were a sideshow. A pawn in the economic game of the MK Birla group. Somehow I did not like the idea of joining a place where the top management in the factory was content to play such a quite role. Its one thing to be part of a bigger corporation, but frankly to me at least the top management seemed to lack drive. For a fresher, you want to learn as much as possible and the quality of the management is vital!! Work with brilliant go-getters and it will make such a difference to your career. This is advice I received from experienced people.

On the plus side the company did mention they were looking to expand their capacity, but did not mention to what end.. Maybe you will make a difference if you are placed there. Maybe you will be the one to change the company around. For me.. It did not seem like the place I wanted to park ship.

Fourthly, the nature of the job was Not very suitable for computer engineers. They wanted a Quality control officer and people to handle work crews and their PLC controlled machinery. In a fully automated factory, I fail to see scope for computer engineers. Where is the programming ? Where is the problem solving ? Where is the application of new software technologies ? Where is the application development? This struck me as being more of a job for ETC engineers.

Having done a project at Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited which is also a Fiber Optics plant, I met with and conversed very often with an excellent gentleman and Q.C. officer by the name of Mr. Navin Gupta. I believe one of the posts being offered was similar to the one held by Mr. Navin in HFCL. I can tell you first hand that, while its an excellent job, its not one I would consider apt for a computer professional.

In addition to all these points, let me share with you my experiences of working in a factory environment in Verna. Along with Shree and Deepali, I trained for a month at Dlink's plant in Verna. The experience was good and I learned a lot of stuff. I am glad I took that chance, however it was clear to me that I would never be happy in such an environment. Its too monotonous, and way to routine for me. Everyday you go to do the same task, and with clockwork monotony Take a break at the same time, leave at the same time. There is no scope to shine, and no scope to make a difference...

There are people, who will say that is a perfect job, but I am not one of them. I need to be challenged on the job.. I hope I will find this in the job I'm hoping to take up soon..

There is no shortcut to success......

Hope you know who this guy is.... He is Ralston, our friend. Once I saw him sitting in front of his project comp. His eyes were closed so I thought he must be sleeping. I found it little funny and decided to take his snap. As I was about to take his snap, he opened his eyes. But was he really sleeping??????

Actually not...... He was trying to find a solution to one of his project problems. He wanted to enter a long data in database and he was trying to figure out how to write such a big query. If are interested in knowing more about the problem contact Ralston. Later on he managed to find a solution. But for that he really had to think hard as you may see in the picture.

Most of us must have faced new problems while working on project. But the question is how we try to solve it. One way is that we can simply hide it. But its always better to find a solution. Even if there is no time to implement it, you should atleast know how you can solve it. But to find that solution, you really have to think a lot.

Computer engineers don't have to do much physical hard work. They have to deal with logic which involves thinking. So, I can say that people are paid to think. Not just thinking, but it should be productive also. Thinking should involve how we can improve the current process, how we can do it differently etc etc etc.

Some are pretty clever and pretend that they can think. What I will say is that they are good in presentation. Even presentation is art and skill and if you are good in it than concentrate on improving it. The thing is, a good idea is of no use if its not presented well and a good presentation is useless without a strong base of knowledge. So both these skills should be developed.

What I've learnt from these four years is that there is no shortcut to success. Like me, most of you must have accepted it and must be planning to work really hard to improve their skills before they join their respective companies. But I'm really surprised to see that there are people who are just in search of shorcuts. There are people who want high salaries without even trying to improve their skills.

Who are they? Well, that shouldn't be the question. The thing is, if you feel that you are one of those who tries to find shortcuts, than please be aware. Cause, there is no shorcut to success.

Best of luck to everyone.

Methods of posting to blog......

One good thing about posting to blogs is that there are three ways in which you can post.

First, you can directly log-in your account and post it there. This is how I send all the post.

Secondly, you can also send it through email. For this, you will have to create secret email address address. For this, go to dashboard and click on the '+' sign in front of your blogs name. Then click on settings and go to email tab. Here you can create Mail-to-Blogger Address. Then whatever you send on this address, you be directly uploaded to your blog. Just remember to keep this address secret. I haven't tried it myself yet.

Third option is through mobile. If anyone knows how this works than please let me know.

There might be more ways of blogging. If anyone knows about them, let me know.

So, hope all of you will start bloging.

Placement In College today.. On site reporting ;-)

Hey folks,

I'm in college today for a placement drive by a company called FibreOptic Ltd.
Apparently they want engineers from all branches, and they have not mentioned a cut-off.

But they are late in getting here.. So here I am posting this.

The comp class is not out in force.. and there seems to be more interest form the mechs and ETC.

In other news, the Cognizant placed students should all get in touch with the TPO. Apparently Cognizant has sent an email to the TPO about the join date for students and mentioned they want students to join in batches on certain days in August,Sept and October. I think you need to specify to the TPO when would be convenient for you..

Ok folks.. That's it from coll today. post if you have any comments ..

World Cup fever !!

Ok folks.. its starting the day after the exams and its prediction time.
I always support England, and if they go out then I support Italy or Holland.

I've been reading the sports headlines and it looks like Rooney's going to be fit for at least a part of the world cup !! Cant wait guys.. Any plans to have a big group of us watch the first game and kick-off on the 9th ?? Big Screen and stuff.. ?

This is my pick for Englands team & subsitute bench. And of course with a very attacking 4-4-2 Whats your team formation & players ?

What are you predictions ? Comment away...

The Haunt of every Pacer - Udiyar !!

Every one has been there at some time or the other and its been the location of some of the best times hasnt it. The good ol sping at Udiyar !! (did i spell that right ?)

I have the snaps of the time we went there after the football match in 4th year. So does Priyesh if any of the guys want them.

Picnics

Hey the part of college i enjoyed the most was the picnics

we went to...

Here are some of the group pics.. hope you remember those

days...



First Year....

We went to Sunset Beach (Betalbatim) It was great.. first

time our class got together.. we played games like two's and

three's ... first time i played such a game along with the

girls [:p]... and remember the truth and dare sessions..

and all the fun we had..


[ I dont have a pic for this one... send me one if you have]




Second Year.....

Oh yes i remember, this was a picnic meant to be a trek from

Bogmalo to Hollant.. But then the access was blocked and we

had to walk on the road... everyone was tired.. i guess

remya was the most exhausted. Well it was the time we made

selwyn mix with the mandals.. and the number of forefeits we

had... then the ring game.. joaquim got violent and

furious.. well cant forget those days..

I dont have a group photo at the picnic spot, but we clicked

a pic after reaching college.. well here it is..






Third Year

This was the best picnic.. At Cabo-de-Rama.. The fun we had

there.. and the trip to Rajbagh..



The games we played in that stream.. the sun tan.. and yes

the controversial tug-o-war. Well i like it the most bec the

bus broke down, and we all had to spend time together

waiting for the other bus... how the girls desperately

searched for a loo.... some villagers house.. and nigels

ghost stories.. well those were the days..





Fourth year

Well everyone remembers this the most.. the trip to galgibag.. the swim.. the forefeits.. and yes, the music..






And the final year finale... the last picnic at velsao.. it was great.. and the sentimental moments.. when we travelled and went back to sunset.. the place of our first picnic.. yes the place which made us almost cry... to see the spot we played our first games... but the photo session cheered us all up, didnt it?



Well Folks, thats about all the picnics we had.. Come you ppl also post somethin..

K then.. till the next post

Adeius

-Ralston

The farewell song..

Hey folks at our farewell, the TE's played this song several times. its an amazing song by GreenDay and its called "I hope you had the time of your life". Here are the lyrics for all you guys.

Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.

Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.

So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.

It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind.

Hang it on a shelf
In good health and good time.

Tattoos of memories
and dead skin on trial.

For what it's worth,
it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

A small note..

Hey guys,

If any of you have blogs of your own or websites of your own you'd like me to link to on the main page of the blog, then send me an email or mail the yahoo group. I'll add it on the links bar along side.

Oh and if you guys have any sugesstions on the way the page should look or change or have anythign added dont hesitate to mail me and let me know.
Thanks guys

When your world is turned upside down..

Gotta love this snap .. awesome guys..

WOW... WE HAVE A BLOG

Hey Folks!!!!


Nice to know bout the blog.. this is my first post.. just wanna tell you all to please keep in touch.. dont let the comp rules spirit go down.. keep in touch.. even after you have your new friends, and children......


I will really miss you all...

Well as nigel said, to keep posting pics.. well here is one..



Cant forget that day.. the amount we ate for lunch.. and after that at CCD!!!

I liked it a lot...

K then folks.. Till the next post.. Tc..

One of my favorite snaps

Hey folks..
This snap of our second last picnic is one of my favorites.. do you have a personal favorite ?

Post away then.. we all have a few people in the class who we were especially close to.. its absolutely normal.. so go ahead.. post snaps of them if you want

.. yes you can post a pic of her if you want, priyesh ;-)

My Thoughts.......

Hello everybody..............

Today is 23rd May 2006. Its 12:02 AM and I'm really thinking what to write and what not to write. But there are lots of things to share with all of you. Oh yaa, we have exams starting from 1st of June so best of luck to all of you. Study well.

Soon, even exams will get over. After that vivas and project demo/presentation will get over too and for some of us there won't be any time even to wish good bye. As far as I know, Nigel has to join as soon as exams get over. So, how are we going to be in touch? Isn't that one of the questions we have in our mind?

Thankfully we have lot of options. We have comp_rules, comp_rocks, comp_masti(remember????), HI5, orkut etc, etc, etc. And now thanks to Nigel, we have this blog too. I don't think I need to explain what the blog is. Do I? Well, even if you don't know, just keep using it and you will come to know. What I can say is, blog is really one of the interesting and easy way of sharing thoughts. Its just like your diary or logbook, but on the net. So its called WebLog or Blog for short.

I had put up one poll on comp_rules regarding how everyone would like to keep in touch. Few voted but I was happy to see that everyone is interested in different ways. Ya, what is important is to stay in touch and not how.

For those who are not placed yet....... Don't forget to inform us when you will get placed. For those who are interested in higher studies do tell us about your lecturers and courses. And for those who are placed, please don't give any excuses that you are busy and all and take do take your time to send mails, thoughts, scraps (on orkut) and also posts on this blog.

And yes, you can upload photos on this blog. Do upload lot of them.

One thing, our tour was really great. Those who didn't come for it, sorry yaar, but you really missed a great chance. I really wish we had one more tour, but lets see..............

Now, I feel as if my mind is not working right now as I'm too sleepy. But one thing I would like to say again, PCCE Computer 2006 batch ROCKS!!!!!! Bye......

Welcome to the Comp Rules Blog !!

Hey folks.. this is the collaborative blog of all the members of the PCCE Computer Class !!

So sign up.. and let me know if you want to be part of this !! contact me via the comp_rules group on yahoo !!

Post whatever you want, and on whatever you want. just be civil folks :-D

Post Snaps .. messages , love letters ;-) , invitations..or just say hi ! anything goes..