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Monday, November 01, 2004

I'm baaack ....

A la Arnie in T2 ... I'll be bacc ... and I am ...

Have been wanting to write for quite sometime now ... but those blasted exams ...
I haven't finished with them yet ( or shall I say, they haven't finished with me yet ) ... but we have a week almost ... before the next practical ... and so I thought ... I'd write again ...

Past couple of weeks have been hectic ... as in, been very busy with exam prep ... and facing the first orals ... all for 50 marks !!!

These external examiners are a very peculiar lot ... and so here are a few thoughts on these species ...

Our orals was for the subject - CASP ... or Computer Algorithms in Signal Processing ... whatever that means ...

If you flip the text book and look on the reverse ... you will find pointers to get you to like CASP and try and study it ...
The pointers read as follows :

Seven good reasons for learning CASP

  • Its the future
  • CASP can snatch success from the jaws of failure.
  • Excellent graphics ! Over 300 figures ...
  • Step by Step approach in explaining concepts
  • Simple Computer Programs
  • Digital Filters : Simple to implement, incredible performance
  • Your competition knows CASP

If this already doesn't have you in splits ... you should maybe read the last one again ...
Your competition knows CASP ...

Now of course they do ... they being as unfortunate as me and getting stuck up with this crappy syllabus ...

You know whats the best reason that they missed out ??
It comes for 100 marks in the exam you dumbass !!! Do you have any choice ?
Not to mention the 50 marks orals that we gave a couple of days ago ...

So, anyways ... we have our orals in CASP ... our first ever ... yay ! ( all the previous stuff which we did for kicks were pracs ... orals is the new 'in-thing' )

Anyways ... so I spent 5 days in their entirety studying for this subject ... and I realised ... that it is not that bad ... only I should have paid a lit-tle more attention with whats happening in class ... and maybe should get treatment for 'brain disorder'.

It always happens with me ... I get things only in the end ... throughout the semester, it was greek and latin ...
On the bright side ... better late than never ... but I feel like such a dud !

So I went for the orals ... having learnt all about Fourier series, Z Transformations, Digital Filters, Signals, DSPs and all the good stuff ...
I reached the college a one hour before schedule and begin the all so important last minute GD with other fellow mates destined to the same fate as me ...

I got all confused and tensed and entered the classroom ... where the two ... our teacher and the external were sitting behind the desk.
He looks at me with those "I don't give a damn about you look" and asks me ...

External : Have you studied difference equations ?
Me : Yes Sir ! (
Some chest thumping in order ... I did it today morning only ! )
External : Good. Tell me some properties of difference equations.
Me : Huh ???
External : Properties of difference equations.

( Now to the best of my knowledge, difference equations is just a measly one line equation ...
IT HAS NO PROPERTIES !!! )

Me : Sir, do you want me to write out the equation ?
External : No ... tell me the properties only ...

( I stare out into oblivion ... and even fake scratching my head ... trying hard to 'think' what to say ... )

Me : Sir ... which properties ?
External : Any properties ... your choice ...

( Deathly silence ...
He then turns to my compatriot sitting besides me ... who has enough presence of mind to rattle off the uses of Differential Equations ...
The external on the other hand ... shows no emotion or reaction whatsoever ... )

He asks me another question which I answer properly ...
And then a sum, which I flub big time ...
The good thing for me was that he didn't bother to see the answer ( hoping that he didn't see me botch it while solving )

Anyways, to my rescue, my teacher asks me a couple of questions ... which I CAN answer and which will hopefully save my ass ...

So much for studying for 5 days ...
Well, atleast I have sorta understood the subject ... never mind WHY and WHERE it is used ... but atleast I KNOW ...

Next stop, a PhD at Massachusetts :)

2 comments:

Shalini said...

Hey...Dont worry...such questions only tell u that the external is rather ignorant about HIS OWN subject,,,now maybe he should take a look at the back cover of katre!!!or just relize that CASP is his means of LIVELIHOOD!!!!

now atleast we know WE wont land up there na???!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey!
Why is this Post appering as the most recent one on your blog...?
I visited because u said u'd written about a book that u'r reading...?
And this now (post name = i am back) is appearing as ur latest.

*mirage*