The return of the native?

If you act like a dog, you have to bark. If you are a DFT mercenary, you have to keep doing something to earn your bread and butter. Since April 2009, I am amused how I have to managed to remain afloat, financially and otherwise. Even now, if there is no job, if I sell all my shares, I can stay afloat for 4-5 years, including paying my home loan, easily (of course, assuming there are no big expenses like medical emergencies). I remember telling my classmate at REC/NIT, Trichy in 1999 a week before I started for Bangalore - I will be out of that place in 2010. She chuckled 'probably with family'. I didn't have any special reason to say so, but maybe it was just intuition. I told the same to my colleagues when I was working in Texas Instruments (2000-2004) and even in Advanced Micro Devices (2007-2009). Seeing the kind of people who are coming into Bengaluru, I am fully convinced that I will run out of patience very soon in any company and especially with the sorta people out there. Settling abroad was also not in radar; definitely NOT US. I was impressed with European way of life, especially British.

Going back to Chennai was probably not in the radar as there were very few companies in semiconductor domain. Noida, Pune or Hyderabad sounded more likely. In Chennai, I got an offer in Nulife semiconductor in 2003-2004 but the pay was too low. Later TI bought Nulife semiconductor and had a bit of analog designing going on in Chennai. Next was Atheros in 2007. They didn't discuss pay but I felt that the managing director was keen to have me on board. I don't know the reasons why they didn't update later. I had heard of GDA Technologies probably in early 2000s but since it was working in analog domain, I thought I will be unsuitable and did not even apply. Last year I wanted to go to the office and talk if I can be of any use in that company. I was told that company no longer exists, but as I was walking further to meet Xerox Innovation Labs, I saw a company SMSC. I just wanted to check out and could meet the head very easily. She was also keen and said that I may fit into their scheme of things. Though even that too fizzled out for reasons unknown, she informed that GDA Technologies has been bought by L&T Infotech. Recently courtesy LinkedIn and other job portals, (my resume is floating in monster, naukri etc) L&T Infotech did indeed contact me and after some discussion, I am asked to join on 25 August 2010. The pay is low and I am on contract, but I get the feeling that it may be the desired change of scene that I need. Reg money, my home loan installment is the key. Selling the flat in Bengaluru or renting it out is a bit dicey as Chennai sojourn is only on contract and hence temporary. I am not yet finished with semiconductor industry; not yet. There are still three semiconductor companies which I have to 'check out' - two Is and one F (big eyes, some may say ;)). If it is written in my forehead, I will. Also, maybe I will be second-time lucky with Ph.D at CMI.

Update: 25 Aug 2010

Normal return is boring and hence I decide to start on my return to Chennai in my sister's scooty today morning at 6:00 a.m. with a rough plan courtesy google maps.

Post-P, it could be 'risky' but as it goes

Risk எடுக்கறது எல்லாம் எனக்கு rusk சாப்பிடறாமாதிரி ;) Hope to continue in better health.

P vs NP : can creativity be automated?

It looks like that I have a tendency to be reading/thinking of what could become news later. I have been blogging enough about P, Post-p etc and it is not ironical that P vs NP problem is in the news. Not only had I posted on my hit at NP-completeness, but I followed it up with my observations on Cook-Levin.

It is no wonder that the million dollar maths puzzle sparks row

Vinay Deolalikar, a mathematician based at Hewlett-Packard laboratories in California, US, claims to have solved the problem of P vs NP.

The skepticism has already started with

Dr Aaronson says the new proof may fail a "very simple sanity check"

It is not really surprising because the consequences of this is also philosophical. In other words

"P vs NP is asking - can creativity be automated?"
Dr Deolalikar claims that his proof shows that it cannot.

Though it may sound 'natural' to many that P is different from NP, it is like this Sudoku analogy. What is a 'hard Sudoku'? For a greenhorn, even medium Sudoku can be 'hard'. I remember doing the last two 'hard' Sudokus in Hindu successfully. It is not necessarily because I am intelligent but I think it is more because I am used to it and my 'Sudoku thinking' skills are reasonably honed by now. As a DFT mercenary, I did mention

there is nothing new or great that is going to shake my domain.

Switching to other domains, Ian Chappell said similarly about the problems with ODI cricket

part of the problem with 50-over cricket is that it is becoming very formulaic

I am sure the other art forms started on similar trend long back. Hollywood was ridiculously formulaic, Bollywood or Hindi Cinema followed suit to its nadir and there were/are some directors in Tamil who involve in such exercise, indulging in a harakiri. I remember one director saying that there is no 'new story' as there are only 5 stories. The director has to just change the rendition. In music, Ilayaraja demonstrated the farce of 'creation' or rather 'making' mode of music at a 'music factory' - he has said many times that music is nothing but a deception that a new thing has been created ;)


I do tend to think that in line with other domains, P may end up getting equalized with NP and proven so. It is poetic, rather mathematical justice ;) Creativity can indeed be automated.

Post-p

During my college days, one of the interesting problems in data structures was to draw the binary tree given its pre-order, in-order, post-order traversal. Some notes used to refer it as pre-p and post-p. For me, given what p means, pre-p and post-p refers to the obvious ;)

Depending on their age, sex, language, profession etc, people are expected to behave in a certain way. Tamils apparently love to talk, doctors have the worst handwriting etc. I have heard that doctors have to be loquacious, if not garrulous because only then patients are apparently comfortable. One of the reasons why I didn't apply for MBA when I was finishing my graduation is the need for 'talk' or 'group discussion' (GD as they used to call it). Talking in front of strangers? I cant think of such things even now. The doctor who did my operation was probably the first doctor, that I saw of, who spoke shockingly very little and he was competing with my mother in the number of words that come out of the mouth. So with little or no post-operative prescription/recommendation from him (he said that I can start working from the next week onwards!), I was on my way to Bengaluru.

There used to be 'family doctor's in olden days, who apart from knowing about the family (and their finances) and their habits, can probably suggest the right dos and importantly donts for the patient. There was a recent programme in Vijay TV (நீயா-நானா?) about the 'commercialization' of doctors. Not that this is new(s), but I feel that this is part of the trend that is sweeping entire economy. Doctors too have become 'factory'ized. Every patient is made to go through the motions of all the 'basic' tests and given the same prescription or remedy and 'case history' is just a farce, if not non-existent. Indeed, homogenizing the heterogeneous world has completed the full circle. All patients are same and this is the fundamental antithesis of Hippocratic oath itself, I guess. It reminds me of 'hypocritical' ;)

As in 'economics' or 'industry', if all are same, why cant we cut down the headcount by half? Fire half, increase the 'dues' of the other half and let the workhorses burn their midnight oil! Euthanasia did not have a more compelling case.

வாழக்கூடாதவங்களுக்கு நான் கொடுக்கிற தண்டனை சாவு, வாழவே முடியாதவங்களுக்கு நான் கொடுக்கற சாவு வரம்! For those who shouldn't live, death is the punishment; for those who cant live, death is a boon. I am him!

With no 'post-p' prescription, I was trying to collate the words spoken by nurses and doctors and read betwixt the lines. I remember that one nurse told me - you should not eat non-vegetarian, of course you are a brahmin, so that should not be a problem - well, if at all, I had plans to eat non-vegetarian in the future, those plans are still-born. The doctor said - don't sit in a place, walk a lot and exercise your abdominal muscles. This was not an issue for me - I have been walking to Krishnarajapuram station for years whenever I go to Chennai and though this 4-5 km walk is occasional, I think compared to many others who walk in 'sterilized' atmosphere in gym or around flat or even within their house - I walk quite a bit on roads on normal days. Even when I reach Chennai, I catch train to Kodambakkam and then walk to my residence, nearly 2 kms from there. I walk to Ranganathan street or T Nagar most of the time and on 'festival season', I think I reach my destination faster by walk than by bus or other means. I in fact made a note that I took 15-20 minutes to reach Ranganathan street by walk. I am sure I would have taken at least 30-45 minutes if I used bus. Anyway, the point is that I have to decide what is best for my body and I never trusted anyone, leave alone these doctors.