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Coursera - Gillette's Journal
http://chengiz.livejournal.com/38363.html
Coursera - Gillettes Journal. This year I made a New Year resolution to do some online courses (aka MOOC. S), primarily to increase my knowledge in areas of interest. So far I signed up for five, out of which I completed four and dropped one. They were all at Coursera, and all free (you can pay for a verified certificate but that has no appeal for me). This is a brief review, FYI and for my own records. Note: the effort and rating (out of 5) are from my perspective. YMMV. Rating: 3.5 stars. This was an i...
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Gillette's Journal
http://chengiz.livejournal.com/tag/acads
I did two more Coursera courses since the last time I wrote. About this. Here are the reviews. YMMV. Ratings out of 5. Fundamentals of Music Theory. Seriously, this course taught me so many things that I was completely ignorant of that I loved it perhaps more than it deserves. I can tell you by looking at musical notation what key and time the piece is in. Give me an hour and I might even be able to tell you some chords in there. I never thought I'd be able to do that after just one course. A reasonably ...
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The Internship - Gillette's Journal
http://chengiz.livejournal.com/38738.html
The Internship - Gillettes Journal. There is no product placement in The Internship. Buying ads on Google helps a family business expand into a franchise because "people are always searching for something and [Google] just wants to help them find you". Not enough? Google makes the male lead "a better person". No, not things that happen to him at Google. But Google. Google. The. Of Google makes him a better person. Top that.
chengiz.livejournal.com
Gillette's Journal
http://chengiz.livejournal.com/tag/computers
I did two more Coursera courses since the last time I wrote. About this. Here are the reviews. YMMV. Ratings out of 5. Fundamentals of Music Theory. Seriously, this course taught me so many things that I was completely ignorant of that I loved it perhaps more than it deserves. I can tell you by looking at musical notation what key and time the piece is in. Give me an hour and I might even be able to tell you some chords in there. I never thought I'd be able to do that after just one course. A reasonably ...
chengiz.livejournal.com
D/L vs VJD deathmatch - Gillette's Journal
http://chengiz.livejournal.com/37334.html
D/L vs VJD deathmatch - Gillettes Journal. D/L vs VJD deathmatch. Another storm gathered in the rather easily excitable Indian teacup the other day when Tony Greig made the following tweet. If the Indians don't get their way on these issues @bhogleharsha and co start whingeing. Nothing gets under our collective skins quicker than a foreigner accusing us of – well –. The ICC rejected the proposal, saying. This caused bhogleharsha and co no small irritation, and Bhogle tweeted. And that brought forth Tony ...
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Gillette's Journal
http://chengiz.livejournal.com/tag/lit
Skimmed through Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography (Playing it My Way). Skimmed because reading it all is impossible. The obsession with numbers and personal milestones is palpable and makes for boring reading. The title is telling. Devotes entire chapters to the hundredth hundred, even having a Deewar like monologue with God when he does it (yes he is literally mad at God for making him wait so long for a made up statistic). Takes no blame for having lost India the match. The worst thing in the book is hi...
chengiz.livejournal.com
Programming for the masochist - Gillette's Journal
http://chengiz.livejournal.com/39135.html
Programming for the masochist - Gillettes Journal. Programming for the masochist. The best job for a masochist programmer is to develop code for a supercomputer. Here's what a typical project looks like. You first get accounts. Administration happens. This takes about a month. You need to port your code there. You realize that for security reasons the computer is virtually off the internet. You need to secure copy. Obviously, you cant just expect it to start when you want to! Oh shit. You forgot to c...
chengiz.livejournal.com
Gillette's Journal
http://chengiz.livejournal.com/tag/sport
Skimmed through Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography (Playing it My Way). Skimmed because reading it all is impossible. The obsession with numbers and personal milestones is palpable and makes for boring reading. The title is telling. Devotes entire chapters to the hundredth hundred, even having a Deewar like monologue with God when he does it (yes he is literally mad at God for making him wait so long for a made up statistic). Takes no blame for having lost India the match. The worst thing in the book is hi...
chengiz.livejournal.com
Faceless Killers – Henning Mankell - Gillette's Journal
http://chengiz.livejournal.com/34366.html
Faceless Killers – Henning Mankell - Gillettes Journal. Faceless Killers – Henning Mankell. My latest library pickup comprised Faceless Killers. And Dogs of Riga. The first two Kurt Wallander mysteries by Swedish writer Henning Mankell. I stumbled upon this series because a language blogger (whom I dont follow but just happened to read), tore apart. The Dan Brown Code very well, and also mentioned his wife's love for Mankell. And The Abominable Man. Wallander often listens to classical music. New DA is a...
chengiz.livejournal.com
Gillette's Journal
http://chengiz.livejournal.com/tag/humor
I just cant stop getting my knickers in a twist over the Onion Cartoon. This cartoon. This cartoon offends me and I am not even religious. To paraphrase Seinfeld, it does not offend me as a Hindu, it offends me as a guy with a sense of humour. Q: What's wrong with this cartoon? A: It is going for a satire of Islam, but it fails because it doesnt show Mohammad. He has no balls. You know what would be a good cartoon? Radek". They turn to the third man and ask him, "Why are you here? He says, "I am Radek".