Be the change you want to see in the world

I am probably the last Indian blogger on earth who has not yet written anything on the recent Mumbai attacks. Not that I have become callously indifferent to the terror that now seems to be a part of our everyday lives but I just dont have anything to say. There is nothing I want to say to the terrorists. There is nothing that I want to say to the politicians. Telling them something and expecting it to work is like asking a donkey to solve a calculus problem and actually expecting it to get the right answer. I have something to say to the guys who went on a peace march on Dec 3rd.






















I am sure you guys had a lot of fun. I can make that out from the stupid grin in your face. I can also make out that you guys are really creative. You guys are funny and write really great poems. The stanzas rhyme perfectly too. Why didnt you guys have a contest? That would have been good. You could have judged the posters on things like slogans, creativity, humour, design etc. I am sure most of you must be doing a great job as the cultural secretary of your college. In case you are not, please join the cultural committee of your college or office. I mean writing creative funny slogans even under such a serious situation is not something ordinary. Such talent should not go waste.

But I dont understand. I dont understand how this so-called "peace march" will bring back the dead. I dont understand how these posters will make the terrorists change their mind. I dont understand how these slogans will change the politicians' nature. So you think Shivraj Patil resigned because he actually took "moral responsibility for the Mumbai attacks". Moral responsibility? Really? So earlier attacks were nothing? He resigned because he had to. He resigned because Sonia Gandhi refused to back him this time because the elections are nearing and things are already worse because of the financial meltdown. I hope you guys know that you can elect our government. Well, I suppose the pain you take for voting will not bring the change this rally will bring. If you think running a country is so simple and if no one is good enough why don't you start a party and stand in the election. I hope you know the concept of "I vote nobody". In case you don't - "As per the rule in Section 49-O, a person can go to the polling booth, confirm his identity, get his finger marked, and convey to the presiding election officer that he or she doesn't want to vote for anyone". I also noticed that none of the posters had even the smallest idea to fight terror. Why are we so afraid to be a part of the system that can fight terror? Why are we instead turning this nation into a land of whiners?
JFK said "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" I would like to add on: "If you cannot do anything, atleast shut the f*** up."

The wretched "Process"

Do you feel yourself choking when you are asked to design an FIR filter? Do you feel numb when you are asked to write the working of a microelectronic diode? Can you feel your brain cells committing suicide when you are asked to find the equation of the EM wave that comes out of a Graded index optical fiber? Don't worry, IT will take you in after you graduate. Like 'IT' or hate 'IT', most cannot escape 'IT'. Atleast 80% of students graduating from engineering college get into the IT field. This omnipresent field opens its arms to students graduating from all possible branches in engineering. My answer to all the above questions was 'Yes' and thats why I too am in IT.

1 year into this field and I now feel that a corpse living in a graveyard probably has a much more interesting life than an IT professional has. Not that programming is dull, yes it is easy but not dull. I know probably even a 10 year old can do the programming that we do in IT. But its not all that bad. The architecture is huge and is something really worth learning. What makes IT job the dullest job in this world (I know I know.. 'the grass is always greener on the other side') is the process followed. If you were to add 1 and 1 to get 2, IT will make sure that you prepare atleast 20 documents with analysis of all the possible ways by which you can add the 1s, the effect of the addition on derivatives or probability or even global warming and how 1+1 can make this world a better place to live in. Similarly when I get a project, the tasks allocated to me in Niku looks something like:

Estimation Activities_XML_ Beneficiary Name for COS
Traceability Matrix Preparation & Updation_XML_ Beneficiary Name for COS
Configuration Management Activities_XML_ Beneficiary Name for COS
Requirements Gathering & Analysis_XML_ Beneficiary Name for COS
Requirement / Functional Specification Rework_XML_ Beneficiary Name for COS
Design(s) Preparation_XML_ Beneficiary Name for COS
User Acceptance Testing Support_BeneBankAcc.Number in Intermediary
Unit Test Case Preparation_Regression Testing Tool
Release Audit (GLT)_MT940 to XML sub field 7 standardisation
Post Implementation Support_MT940 to XML sub field 7 standardisation

I dont even know the order in which I am supposed to execute the above tasks. All I know when I get a project is : I get the requirement, I analyze, I code, I test it, I release it to Live, I support it, I take the blame if anything goes wrong with it. I dont want to make 100 documents which I am sure no one reads, I dont want a defect on my name just because I didnt follow the latest version template of some doc in which the word issues was changed to consequences, I dont want to fill up a hundred forms just to make my code go live, I dont want some tool to trace my testing, I dont want to break my head trying to follow the naming convention in thousand different folders. I just want my project to be done my way. The process and the documents are driving me mad. A fews days back they started a new template document just to put in the mistakes found in other documents. Heres one that was sent to me by my APM and I was asked to update it. I nearly killed myself that day.