Very Special Day for me

Today(Dec 31st,2009) is a very special day for me. Last day as an RA for my Professor.
I like to work for my professor very much. But I also want to have an intern experience. After coming back I will be his RA again. I will work on my thesis most of the time than work for him. So, I think this is the real last day as an RA. I am fortunate to have such a good, smart and talented person as my advisor. Sometimes I feel I am lucky in some matters. Today I gave an overview of my work to my advisor and co-RA. My advisor commented 'I AM IMPRESSED BY YOUR WORK'. For me,that was one of the very happy moments. He wished me good luck for my internship and said that I will surely do well. He has more confidence on me than I do.

A+ in Machine Learning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I got my grades,A- and A+, for "Wireless Networking" and "Machine Learning" respectively. The exciting part is I got an A+ IN MACHINE LEARNING. Even more interestingly I am the only person to get an A+ in a class of 20. This is a great news for me. Ofcourse I deserve it(I put a lot of time into that course). Good work Chandana. Good work.

My Favorite Quote

This is one of the quotes I strongly believe and follow:

IF YOU DON'T WANT ANYONE TO KNOW, DON'T DO IT.

Overcome 'OUT OF MEMORY' error in Matlab

Today I learnt to overcome 'Out of Memory' error in Matlab. Ofcourse it is understood that I browsed the net and found out. The solution is(this is for Windows Vista),

Go to
My Computer --> Advanced --> Settings(under Performance) --> Advanced Tab --> Change --> Under Custom size increase the size --> Click OK.

Then restart your computer.
DONE.
Your Matlab code will now work.

In short we are increasing paging file size.

The same happened again

This post is regarding my presentation today.
I am comfortable speaking before 10 people. More than 10 people in front of me - you are sure to hear a different tone from my side(That means I am tensed). Today I had to give a presentation in one of my courses(only required to speak for 5 min). I was talking, without looking at the audience(they were ~30), with an unusual voice. I was speaking in a very hurried manner trying to complete my part as fast as possible.
People can guess that I am terribly tensed. In my school days, I never participated in any competitions(which requires talking before people). I escaped situations where I had to talk. But some things are unavoidable(Like the one today). These situations remind that I am not a good social speaker.

My Brother

I want to introduce to you my brother, Saideep Nannapaneni. He is doing his B.Tech,Civil Engineering at IIT Madras.




He is intelligent but not a hardworker. He loves spending money on food. He loves hanging out with friends. He never calls me 'sister'(He always calls me by my name and I get frustrated).

Machine Learning Project

I need to do a project in my Machine Learning class. Advisor of the course suggested some ideas for the project and every idea seems very interesting to me(some of them are forecasting weather, programs for playing games like chess, image classification etc). I want to do all of them. Till now I was not able to decide on the project. Today I thought that I should fix on something and start working on it. I chose "Face Detection using Neural Networks" and I truly want to learn many things. I am fascinated by the applications of machine learning and I want to implement one and see the taste of it. I should/will seriously work on this project.

Finally said "YES"

I finally accepted the offer. Should see how it goes............

My Co-op Offer

Yesterday ANSYS people offered me a Co-op position for Spring and Summer semesters. I was very excited on hearing the news. I thought I could join if I get the offer(I wanted to do an internship). But now I end up thinking again and again if I should accept the offer(due to many reasons). I am eager to see how this goes. Bottom Line is I now feel very confident of myself and I am sure that even if I cannot take this offer, I can surely find some job after my Master's.

Good Saying

"Find a bug in a program, and fix it, and the program will work today. Show the program how to find and fix a bug, and the program will work forever."
- Oliver G. Selfridge, in AI's Greatest Trends and Controversies

My Thesis Confusion

I tried to concentrate on my thesis this semester. My advisor selected a topic for me. He tried to explain me the thesis topic many times. When he tells me, I feel I understood everything. But once I think about the topic again, I start getting many doubts. My advisor is working hard to make me understand better by selecting good papers and suggesting me to read them. Basically I dont have the habit of reading papers. I am trying to read them but nothing is going into my head. I dont know why(may be I dont feel the topic that interesting). My professor is not to be blamed for this because I myself am not able to select a good topic.

My Long Weekend Story

I am just back from my long weekend. I thought I should spend these holidays doing some useful work. I even planned the work that I should do. But, I didnot do even a single thing that I planned to. I went to temple, watched movies, went to restaurants and did everything except doing what I planned to. May be this is the first time it happened so. I was a little sad because nothing went according to my schedule but very happy that I enjoyed my weekend. The best part of the weekend - I got a chance to drive my friend's car for 75 min.

Learning GWT

I need to understand an application for which I need to know about GWT, Ajax. I will start reading about this from today.

get IP address in C under Linux

Today my work was to write a C code that gives the IP address of the system. For 2 hours, I searched on the internet to find if they are any predefined functions to do this. I didnot find anything useful. Then my friend Srikanth Parupati helped me solve my problem. He taught me to run shell commands from a C program. 'ifconfig' can be used at shell to get the info of the system and 'grep','cut' commands can be used on the ifconfig output to extract the IP address. If we want a C program to give out the IP, simply call this command from C using 'system'
Thanks Srikanth.

Started learning Linux

I started learning to operate a linux machine. I learnt many new things in the last few days.
I am very excited to work on a linux environment. I learnt about ssh,WinSCP and many linux commands. Also, the system I work on has no GUI. So, everything need to be accessed from the shell. I was surprised to know that we can download files from the internet through the shell.

Tourist: Whose skeleton is that?
Guide: An old king's skeleton.
Tourist: Who's that smaller skeleton next to it?
Guide: That was same king's skeleton when he was a child.

Calling batch file within another batch file

Say we want to call bat1.bat within bat2.bat. We can just call bat1 within bat2.
But the problem is that the control doesnot comeback once it calls bat2. The statements after bat2 within bat1 are not run at cmd. To overcome this we need to use the "call" command while calling bat2.

C functions - Windows Vs Linux

On a Windows machine,
we use,
"itoa(str,num,radix)", for converting an integer "num" to a string "str".
"atoi(str)", for converting a string "str" to integer.

But on a linux machine, these functions donot work when we use "gcc" for compilation. The equivalent functions are,
itoa --> sprintf(str,"%d",num);
Here, the second argument should be the format specifier of the number to be converted.

atoi --> sscanf(str,"%d",$num);
Here the second argument is the format specifier of the number to be converted into and
the third argument should be the address of the number variable.

C basics in Linux

I am learning the very basics of C programming in Linux. I will post some of them.

Compiling a C program,
"gcc -o try try.c"

Here, try.c is the actual C program. -o options is used for renaming the the executable file. If you dont use -o option, then by default a.out will be the name of the executable.

Running a C program,
"./try"

Happy to meet my school friends

Today my school friends contacted me through orkut. I was very happy to see them and more happy that they still remember me. I normally have very few friends but these days I am meeting more and more people.

Interesting problem I encountered with JNI

I was trying to call C functions from java. Initially, I was sucessful in calling C function through java program. I thought everything was working well. But the problem is with the java code after calling the C function. I will present the summary of the problem

class testingC{
psvm(String args[]){
//declaration of native method and loading the library
testingC tc=new testingC();
//calling C function
tc.testingcores();
System.out.println("back to java program");
//creating file object
File f=new File("chandana.txt");
System.out.println("file created is:"+f);
}
}


When I run this program, I get the output
back to java program

when I don't call the C function, i.e I comment out tc.testingcores(),I get the output

back to java program
file created is chandana.txt.

I was very surprized to observe this. Why is the java code after calling the C function not working properly? The reason might be very simple. I don't know. I am trying to find out.

My phone not working

My phone stopped working. I don't know the reason. Have to contact AT&T people regarding that.

Back to C

Today, after 4 years, I wrote a C program. The last time I did programming in C is when I was in my first year of undergraduation. I forgot all the syntax of C but it was easy to recollect. C was always my favorite but didnot have any need to write C programs in these 4 years.

CML

I am presently re-engineering CML(Coded Modulation Library). Everything is written in matlab and it is a little tough for me. But I can do that.

New Thing I learnt today

Till now I have been thinking that the java version 1.5 would be enough for most of the eclipse plug-ins. But there are some eclipse plug-ins which require java 1.6 version. So,if you get "java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError" while adding a plugin and changing its preferences, try with a higher java version.

Result

I went for the Driver's test but I failed. But I was happy with my performance. She says I need more practise on road.

Test

Today I may go to driver's test. Hope I get my license. If I get, I will be the very very very happy.

Good Joke

A young businessman had just started his own firm. He had just rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques.

He saw a man come into the office. Wishing to appear the hot shot, the businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working. He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments.

Finally he hung up and asked the visitor, ''Can I help you?''

''Yeah, I've come to activate your phone lines.''

Learning Latex

I started learning Latex. I am planning to learn it in 3 days. Wish me all the best.

work done

I could complete my target work. On Tuesday, I need to give a presentation of my work.

I solved one of the 2 problems. Javaranch.com helped me in solving my problem.
javaranch.com is a really good java forum. They are really quick in responding to our questions(whether the solutions work or not is a secondary issue while most of the times they do work).

status of my work

I completed 90% of the work. I had time to do the remaining 10% but didnot get any idea how to do it. I am still thinking about it. I am working on 2 problems right now

1. Accessing static data from a singleton class.
2. Creating graphs on jsp.

Back to work

I am back from my summer vacation. I need to start working from today. I put on a target for the next 3 days. I will be very happy if I can achieve my target.

Fact

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.

March 28th joke

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples.

The nun made a note and posted on the apple tray: “Take only ONE. God is watching.”

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.

A child had written a note, “Take all you want. God is watching the apples.”

Batch Files

Batch File is the best interface between java program and the command prompt. - Chandana

Mar 14th - quote

"It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them. To make a mistake is only an error in judgment, but to adhere to it when it is discovered shows infirmity of character.” - Dale E. Turner

Mar-11th joke

'Before we get married,' said John to his fiancee,'I want to confess some affairs I've had in the past.'
'But you told me all about those a couple of weeks ago,' replied the girl.
'Yes, darling,' John explained, 'but that was a couple of weeks ago.'

link for applet of a normal distribution

we can find Q-function values and confidence intervals using the following link:

http://davidmlane.com/hyperstat/z_table.html

Mar 5th - quote

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. - Albert Schweitzer

Mar 4th - joke

Jill tells her husband, "Jack, that young couple that just moved in next door seem such a loving twosome. Every morning, when he leaves the house, he kisses her goodbye, and every evening when he comes homes, he brings her a dozen roses.

Now, why can't you do that?"

Jack says, "I can't do that. I hardly know the girl."

Mar 2nd - quote

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
Confucius.

Mar 2nd - joke

Shakey went to a psychiatrist. "Doc," he said, "I've got trouble. Every time I get into bed, I think there's somebody under it. I get under the bed, I think there's somebody on top of it. Top, under, top, under. "you gotta help me, I'm going crazy!"

"Just put yourself in my hands for two years," said the shrink. "Come to me three times a week, and I'll cure your fears."

"How much do you charge?" "A hundred dollars per visit." "I'll sleep on it," said Shakey.

Six months later the doctor met Shakey on the street. "Why didn't you ever come to see me again?" asked the psychiatrist. "For a hundred buck's a visit? A bartender cured me for ten dollars."

"Is that so! How?" "He told me to cut the legs off the bed!"

Feb 28 - quote

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one.
Elbert Hubbard

Feb 28 - joke

A man was traveling down a country road when he saw a large group of people outside a house. He stopped and asked a person why the large crowd was there.

A farmer replied, "Joe's mule kicked his mother-in-law and she died."

"Well," replied the man, "she must have had a lot of friends."

"Nope," said the farmer, "we all just want to buy his mule."

Feb 26th-quote

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
- Chinese Proverb

Feb 26th-joke

Susie's husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months. Things looked grim, but she was by his bedside every single day. One day as he slipped back into consciousness, he motioned for her to come close to him. She pulled the chair close to the bed and leaned her ear close to be able to hear him.

"You know" he whispered, his eyes filling with tears, "you have been with me through all the bad times. When I got fired, you stuck right beside me. When my business went under, there you were. When we lost the house, you were there. When I got shot, you stuck with me. When my health started failing, you were still by my side. "And you know what?"

"What, dear?" she asked gently, smiling to herself.

"I think you're bad luck."

Feb 25th-quote

It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.
- Roy Disney

Feb 25th-joke

A small boy is sent to bed by his father. Five minutes later:
"Da-ad..." "What?"
"I'm thirsty. Can you bring me a drink of water?"
"No. You had your chance. Lights out."
"Five minutes later: "Da-aaaad..."
"WHAT?"
"I'm THIRSTY...Can I have a drink of water??"
"I told you NO! If you ask again I'll have to spank you!!"
"Five minutes later...
"Daaaa-aaaad..."
"WHAT??!!"
"When you come in to spank me, can you bring me a drink of water?"

Feb 24th-quote

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up. - Jesse Jackson

Feb 24th-joke

Tim and John work in a software company. One day, they were to move their machines to another building. Tim was having a tough time carrying his machine.
John : "My machine has 500 MB disk. See how easily I am carrying it. Yours has just 250 MB. Can't you carry even this much?"
Tim : "But yours is empty and my disk is full"!!!

good link to learn LINUX

http://www.linux.org/lessons/beginner/l1/lesson1a.html

and go on clicking "Next".

Feb 23rd-joke

Smith goes to see his supervisor in the front office. "Boss," he says, "we're doing some heavy house-cleaning at home tomorrow, and my wife needs me to help with the attic and the garage, moving and hauling stuff."

"We're short-handed, Smith" the boss replies. "I can't give you the day off."

"Thanks, boss," says Smith "I knew I could count on you!"

Feb 23rd - quote

Success does not consist in never making blunders, but in never making the same one a second time.
Josh Billings

Feb 21st - quote

"The world is so fast that there are days when the person who says it can't be done is interrupted by the person who is doing it." - Anon.

Feb 21st - joke

A man and his wife were in a court for their divorce case.
The Problem was who should get custody of the child.
The wife screamed and jumped up and said: "Your Honor. I brought The child into the world with all the pain and labor.
The child Should be in my custody."

The judge turned to the husband and said: "What do you have to Say in your defense?"

The man sat for a while contemplating...then slowly rose. "Your Honor... If I put a dollar in a Pepsi Vending Machine and a Pepsi Comes out...
Whose Pepsi is it... The machine's or mine?"