How do you hold down poop pressure!

NOTE: Not for those who can't withstand the poop-thought!

People in my batch have certainly assumed me to be the 'hagga-God' because of my ability to raise any topic mixed with gory details of poop. And that too while they are eating something. Without any shame. Just dare to engage me on this.
So in this post, I want to describe one of the most common thought processes that has occurred to all of us, particularly in the morning. Some of you have mastered it, others just couldn't. This is poop-pressure-while-there's-someone-in-the-bathroom.

"Its an art, not science. You just can't train your body to curb it. You feel so much impact on your body and on psychological level, you just start praying." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Lets start imagining. You get up at 7.45 in the morning. Your class/exam is about to start in 15 mins. You run towards bathroom only to find out that there's a queue. BAMM! Now starts the real exam and believe me, in the course of waiting, you will convince yourself that this is the apocalypse and surviving it will be the biggest blessing that God has ever bestowed upon you. Let me show you how you fight (consider your threshold to be of 10 mins).

0-1st min: "(mild reaction) Oh shit! It's occupied. Never-mind, I'll wait. Someone will definitely come out within a few seconds. Life is good!"

1st-3rd min: "(tension creeps in) Phew! Who takes this much amount of time to let it out? Certainly not me! I mean, people should be more considerate."

3rd-4th min: *Door knocking starts* You have started to pull things upwards ;)

4th-5th min: "(sweat breaks and you have ceased to move because you have experienced that movement does nothing but applies pressure outwards) *politely* Bhaiyon, aa jao bahar yaar!"

5th-7th min: "(suddenly another thought comes to your mind. Needless to say that pressure is just short of what is required to burst things out) Do I have Tide or Surf Excel or any damn detergent? More importantly, do i have a spare underwear? Kyunki-ye-daag-to-bilkul-acche-nahi honge..."

7th-8th min: *Door banging and blabbering of cuss words starts*... b***c***...abe andar tatti kar rahe ho ya pyaz daal ke pakode tal rahe ho..yahan fatne ko hai..bahar aa jao warna bhari hui chaddi muh pe fenk dunga..(you are sweating heavily and the pelvic parts of your body have gone stiff due to constant pressure, inwards as well as outwards)

8th-9th min, 50 secs: "(..and praying starts) Oh God! You are the ultimate savior. I'll go to temple every week, will (start)study, will help others in need. I'll quit vices. I'll even take a bath daily. Just give me the strength to survive this. Om...Om....Om...."

9th min, 55 secs: *Sound of running water* - There's a faint ray of hope in this eternity of despair and pain.

9th min, 59 secs: *door opens and you leap towards it with speed of light*

10th min: *LOUD THUNDEROUS SOUND* "Sweeeeet Mother of Goooooooodddd!!! (a sigh of relief came out and a tear rolled down your cheek, taking away all your pain and giving you the ultimate pleasure)"

I have drawn a graph which pictorially depicts your mood swings - 

Oh boy! Believe me! After that shitload is out of your system, you become a new person - Superman. You feel as if every thing has fallen into right place (literally and figuratively, both), there's a sense of enlightenment around you and you feel as if you have achieved higher wisdom.

Agatha Christie once said, "I like pooping. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to poop is a grand thing."

Even Adolf Hitler was also a great of admirer of poop - "Zis poop makes me scream vis affection." 

This was, my dear friends, a journey through hell and back again!
ALL PRAISE POOP! ALL HAIL FECES! LET'S GO EXCREMENT!

Letter to brother from another mother

Sup man,

Hope this letter finds you in 12-B.

I am gonna tell this to you very straight and without any bakchodi. Though I should have done it a long time ago but you know me what kind of person I am. I flunk emotions.

In the light of recent series of events, I came to know you better than I ever did in last 15 years of our friendship. And to tell you very honestly, I had never thought that you would take care of someone in a way you are taking. The way you responded to some circumstances is something that I used to thought tu to kabhi nahi kar payega. By the way, this particular thought of mine also includes 'you-know-what'. :D Kiddin'. But here you are, standing firmly in the time of need.
I have always thought what it feels like taking care of someone with everything you have. Maybe I'll find that person one day (I wanted to write 'sooner-or-later' par tu hansega for se :D) like you have but I doubt if that person can ever find 'me' inside me. I don't know about your case with every detail but I can bet that the case is somewhere near to it (Honestly, i will be afraid if case is anywhere near to it. :D).
Boy, always remember - Do what you got to do. Dont let anyone point a finger in your face saying you ain't what you were supposed to be. I think you have had your share of fights and what-not. Now is the time to cherish whatever is left of this glorious 4 year period.

Regarding the matter of loosing opportunities, ab hamari zindagi ka ekkai maksad hai - BADLA. Maarenge nahi 'dono' ko, kehke lenge unki. 

Lastly, I want you to make a checklist of things that you (and I) had planned before you become a multi-millionaire.

1. USKO BAHUT PEETNA HAI. :D:D
2. Sign a judicial stamp paper of Rs. 100 that you'll gift me a Royal Infield and a Honda CRV the day you earn a commission >50 lakhs.
3. Please add a clause stating that you wont go to Spain without me.

Suit yourself after this.

Bahut bol die aaj be. Isse zyada hamse na ho paega. :D

Hats off to you. 
Ab tu infi peace maar.

Your brother from another mother,
31, VH.

Mediocrity at its best

You may call it hyper-activeness or my unconventional way of thought process (unconventional, marking mediocrity as reference), I am constantly being tortured by my own thoughts. These thoughts, on an abstract level, are my deeper fears of being incompetent, mediocre or sometimes, even wastage of human resources. These thoughts sometimes render me thoughtless; at other times fill me with the synergy of the world. But regardless of their effect on me, they just flash a neon sign board in front of my eyes shoving 'you are not doing what you got to do' EVERY SINGLE TIME in my face.

If you ask me, the real essence of success is best tasted in the dusk of the next day. The sun is setting, birds are returning to their nests and there you are, standing alone, introspecting and thinking about the hard work you did at that point of time yesterday, the day before yesterday and so on and the memories bring a sweet, secret smile on your relaxed and content face. I am pretty much sure that you all must have felt something like this sooner or later. I was lucky to experience it once when I cleared NTSE Level -1 with state rank 8th (2005; 9th standard). I eventually became NTSE scholar after steering through all rounds but the feel, the gist of achieving something is still intact in my heart. And since that time, I have been trying to experience it just one more time.

The reasons that I account for not getting any concrete success after that is my lack of optimum devotion to anything that I get into. I am a student in an IIT but not intelligent enough, in CS branch but ain't a coder, a photographer but human emotions fail me, a graphic designer but color combinations always test me, a drummer with issues in double bass pedal and odd time signatures. So you see, I know 30-40% of everything but 100% of nothing. A classic telltail sign of 'Jack-Of-All-Master-Of-None'. A perfect example of classic mediocrity. And this thing make me wince. Whenever I party, I feel like I don't deserve it. Whenever I watch any movie, I feel like I've wasted my time. I have done so many things since my freshman year which I thought I could never do but I've always failed to touch the height of any specific domain. (I want to blurt everything out. Please let me do it.)

The thing I want to share with you through my story is that being mediocre sucks big time. If you think big , you'll always find yourself amidst scarce resources. Be it time or infrastructure. But if you try to push yourself to the limits, try to increase your comfort zone, you will see that the bar will itself go higher. Challenge yourself and become better of it. There ain't any room for mediocrity. Be the best in whatever you do. If you are a player, play the best of the game. If you are a singer, sing the hell out of it. If you are mason, lay that brick like no one else. If you can arrange for an excuse for anything, you are bound to fail. DO WHAT YOU GOT TO DO.

Watch the following clip from the movie, 'Rocky VI' and learn from Stallone how winnin' is done.

Always remember folks - 

If you can't be a pine on the top of a hill

Be a scrub in the valley, but be the best little scrub on the side of the hill

Be a bush if you can't be a tree,

If you can't be a bush, be a bit of the grass

And some highway happier make.

If you can't be a muskie, then just be a brass,

But the liveliest bass in the lake.

We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,

There is something for all of us here.

There's big work to do and there's lesser work, too,

And the thing we must do is the near

If you can't be a highway, then just be a trail.

If you can't be the sun, be a star.

It isn't by size that you win or you fail.

Be the best of whatever you are.

                                                                                            - Douglas Maloch

I have designed a poster inspired by this thought. If you like it, you can download it from my flickr account - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahirnish/8031862083/in/photostream

The buzzing in 4th year lobby

Note: No offence to fairer sex but I am biased to write this blog from the perspective of an average male engineering student. Majority counts. :D

So what do you called a period of time in your life when you start reading course books before you install internet connection? When you start clearing stacks to make space for academic stuff? When you start discussing pros and cons of government economic policies on dinner and forgot to criticize mess food? When you realize you don't possess formal white shirt and a pair of black shoes? When you start considering the option of waking up early so that you can concentrate more on studies? If this is the case - Welcome 4th Year!

So here we all are, in the final and the most critical quarter our of our awesome college life. Things have suddenly changed. We have become humble, modest (ofcourse until the placement :D) and more considerate towards what our future will be. And on top of that we are succeeding in memorizing what topic we read last night. ;) Ain't it God-ly? Suddenly the focus has been shifted from 'how-to-do-it?' to 'how-to-do-to-efficiently?'. Just remember those nights of end-semester exams time. You crammed the whole formula with all examples, puked it first thing in the exam next morning and were done with the whole theory. Though things are bound to change but this supposedly subtle change is not at all subtle. If not anything, it's scary. Take a walk in your lobby and analyze the environment in any room. As if you have been teleported to another dimension overnight. Here are some incidents that made me believe that it is surely not a just world.

• "This is all destiny. It is my fate that I am in Civil. No grades, no companies, no job! We were all same when we entered; then what happened that a CS guy gets placed with 14 lpa and we beg for even 4...AISA KYA BHOKAAL HO GAYA BE UNKA??" - Meet my friend and the best guitarist in college.
• While going to mess: "Oye! Have you solved that palindrome puzzle with the help of link list?"..."Yeah! But couldn't fare better than O(n2)." - Dude! Sabzi in mess is still inedible.
• "Oh God! Bas is baar ye suppli clear ho jaye...I swear I'll do my BTP on Digital Signal Processing." - The one with less than 15 classes in his 3rd year. 
• "I am thinking of changing my course to dual degree. 3 years and nothing substantial. I think I am more research-oriented." - The one with 3 supplementary in 3rd year.
• "Do you have Stanford's video lectures on Z-Tranform? I am done with those on DSP and Microprocessors." - The one whose 500 GB hard-disk is fragmented into 470 GB for 'exotic' videos and rest 30 GB for maintenance and backup. Where the hell is segregation for university stuff? All he had was 'BIG-something-SCHOOL-STUFF'. ;)
• "I have absolutely no interest in taking up a job. I have my own plans. I want to do farming for 2 years, organic if you ask and then will look for something in creative field." - He is actually gonna do it. He is sure.
• "Yesss! Rahul(name changed) got 6.xx this time. That means his CGPA is now less than 7. He won't be able to sit for ZS. 1 down." - Gone are those days when friends used to celebrate together their F's in grade-sheet.
• "DAARU-SUTTA-GAANJA TYAAG RAHA HUN MAIN BHAGWAN...NAUKRI LAGWA DENA MERI. USKE BAAD DEAL RENEGOTIATE KAR LENGE..." - It actually happened. He cannot even poop properly if he doesnt smoke atleast one cigarette right in the morning.

Sweet Mother Of God!

And yes! Best of luck fellas for placement season ahead.

Can I be the next Mr. President?

Though nominees for next Presidential Election have been named by respective political parties of India and we, the people of India, must respect their decision as they are the people with deep vision (read 'increase-in-petrol-prices-and-inflation-and-Earth-bound-economy-rate'). Oh! I am sorry Pranab Da for mentioning about petty issues. You can continue with the idea of pooping in facilities worth Rs. 30 lacs and making a list of advises on 'How-to-revisit-1991-when-you-are-in-2012' and giving it to stepping-in Finance Minister. (1991 - Year of starting of economic liberalization in India)
Sorry folks! He was listening to LMFAO and was LHFAO :D. No comments from his side.

So where were we?...Yes. Real candidates for the post of President of India. So now that every political party is throwing names ans the condition has become so terrible that names on board are giving people belly stabs, why cant we come up with our own list? So here I propose, on behalf of 'mango people', some names who have guts to withstand adverse conditions - 

1. RAKHI SAWANT - The way she accused Mika of not treating her as morally sound Indian woman. The way she accused Vidya Balan and Ekta Kapoor of not casting her as lead role in Dirty Picture because she actually behaves like the character in the movie. The way she accused Aamir Khan of copying the idea of Rakhi Ka Insaaf and presenting as Satyamev Jayate. Such an honest, patriotic, outspoken and brave woman. Who knows, if given chance, she might accuse USA or China or G-20 for our diving economy with so much brutality that they might start considering going down is new soaring high and accept her as new Margaret Thatcher.



2. SHARAD PAWAR - BCCI is on its way to become world's wealthiest sports body. ICC cannot even think of existing if it develops a conflict of interests with BCCI. Just imagine Sharad Pawar screaming - 'THIS..IS...BCCI' (though he cant pull up his leg even an inch). Even King Leonidas would have bowed down. And how can someone forget his level of patience when he got slapped by Harvinder Singh. Such level of ferocity and calmness - only in Sharad Pawar. Who knows this silent aggression might make all world leaders bow to him and make them beg for RICE! :D 



3. LAL KRISHNA ADVANI - "किस्मत का मारा हूँ  कुछ कह नहीं सकता...कुछ भी दे दो मैं मना नहीं  सकता..." These lines pretty much sum up his inner feelings ;). I think he still he hasn't released the energy which he had generated back in 2004 when he thought he could be the next PM but Congress came as party-poopers. Give him the power and he shall unleash the wrath of RSS.



4. KAPIL SIBBAL - A very famous proverb goes like this - 'Never argue with an idiot;they'll drag you down to their level, and beat you with experience'. And that's what he wants with his proposed JEE agenda - making everyone come down to a common level. To tell you honestly, this man has got enough void spaces in his cognitive part of brain and I forbid you to think it as his weakness. I dont know whether you people have read the most important eligibility criterion to apply for this post or not but it clearly says - HE/SHE SHOULD BE A UTTER DUMB PERSON. Voila!! P.S. - Dont underestimate him. He is an IITian - Insane-Inane-Trivial.



5. SHAHRUKH KHAN - He knows how to make money from daft movies like Ra.One (sorry for opening up old wounds :)). He had confessed to dance in anyone's wedding providing the negotiations starts from not less than some crores. He can pick up a fight with anyone anywhere and then openly states that he wont apologize. Dude! We got an audacious money earning wackadoodle. Who else we need?



6. DIGVIJAY SINGH - Oh boy! We missed you. Where have you been? :D Relentless is the word for him. Whenever (read always) he has spoken about anything, he has defended his words on his loyalty to Congress. Does it matter whether they make sense or not? NO SIR. That's the kind of audacity is required. He can be the one who can comment on other nations' economic policies and then realizing that he missed the starting gun. Never mind, he'll blame the gun :D. And he said "Mamta is immature". Ha.



7. YO YO HONEY SINGH - Our Indian Eminem. This man can get any man move with his highly insane and sleazy rap. Just imagine Honey Singh at G-20 summit. Other countries' representatives come along with their Foreign Secys and deputies and here he is - bringing Gippy Grewal with him and flanked by canadian chicks. Whole summit will then dance to Angrezi Beat. He teaches lessons of self-content - जो भी मिले चक्को कुछ फ्रेश नैयो मिलना...:D. He teaches us not to indulge in vices - इन्ना वि ना डोप शोप मारिया करो...:D. Will we ever get any person like this who teaches such moral values? NO SIR. And we will get unconditional support of Punjab as well as of Canada on any issue. Double whammy!! 

And now the 2 personalities, who I genuinely want to see holding that post.

1. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM - Who doesnt want to see him there again? He was unarguably the most popular President India has had. Great visionary and a person from which you can draw infinite amount of inspiration. When his term was about to get over in 2007, he said, "I came here with two small suitcases and I'll leave with two small suitcases". I think his one of the suitcases is filled with Indian people encore - "ONCE MORE". Though he declined to file the nomination for another term but he'll always be welcomed. When you see him, you know what the word 'humble' means.



2. NARAYAN MURTHY - Well, he needs no introduction. This man defines the word 'entrepreneurship'. Just read the pre-commencement lecture that he delivered at New York University (Stern School of Business) (read it here) on May 9, 2007 and you will know why this man is the most apt person for the post. And for those who dont know, he is at #10 in the Fortune's list of 12 Greatest Entrepreneurs of our Time. 

P.S. Special accolades for the out-going President, Mrs. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil without whom we'll never get to know how the powers of this post can be exploited to the maximum. We even get to know the amount of public money spent on personal foreign trips while reserving highly ranked defence personnels as private butlers. Her foreign trips have cost the public exchequer Rs. 205 crores, surpassing the record of all of her predecessors. WHOAA!! She will always be remembered for setting new standards in lowering the dignity of the president's office. Ladies and gentlemen, first woman President of India. 

Am I enjoying my life?

If you ever felt alone while getting drenched in the rain, if you ever heard a song whose melody resonated with the isolated parts of your heart, if you ever felt like that work, workplace and time are going perpendicular to each other then you must have asked from your self this question - AM I ENJOYING MY LIFE? And I beg you to not to confuse it with mid-life crisis. You may be sitting in your hostel room banging your head against an algorithm which has, non-geek folks can skip it (i mean they have no option :D), O(n*logn) time-complexity and BAM! - you just realized that you don't give a rat's ass to complexity.  For you purpose may be to just sit in front of TV and rate the advertisements or it may be to revolutionize the world with the greatest of the idea. The point is the moment you realized that 'OK, I don't know what I gonna be but definitely NOT THIS', you hit that wall. And not to mention that when you have even realized what's your purpose is, consider yourself 2 inches into that wall. :D
Now this is not the usual stuff (not exactly but you know...;)) that you find in every other motivational or inspirational speech and the purpose of my writing is not even to motivate you. I am sure by now (I am considering the reader to be a young adult) you all have strong reasons to support what you are pursuing and if you don't have one, you must have made one! ;) Also, this is no how-to-succeed-in-life guideline. I just wanted to share what made me think that I have collided with that wall.


Having said that, I also want to share some of the things that we all should experience to have, if not perfect then atleast to some extent, an answer to the big question.

1. Shed your inhibitions. Meet new people. Listen to their life fundas. Knowing others' perspective towards life will help in building yours. Always remember - we should be in a box only when we are dead.
2. The cliche one - Involve in activities that you think you are good in. (And please don't follow popular Facebook pages of 'what-others-think-you-are-good-in to see what-you-actually-good-in) :D. This will give you a sense of content.
3. Do not waste your energy in delivering upto expectations of others for whom your existence is just as good as Congress' image in Anna Hazare's mind. ;) Albert Einstein had said that if you want to succeed in life, tie your life to your goal and not to people. 
4. My father firmly asserts on engaging in atleast one social activity. Be it against global warming or teaching underprivileged children. Involving in such activities will broaden your scope of thoughts and you will be able to perceive life in much vivid manner.
5. Spend less time ONLINE and more time OFFLINE. Imagine if you spend even half of the time you spend being 'online' with your close friends, who knows we can have another Green Day (the band!). (I wanted to write Dream Theater but then I realized that I am dealing with muggles of the 'metal' world. \m/) :D:D. Cherish your friendship and value it.
6. Take up any damn activity (read damn = constructive) and make it a habit. Habit in such a way that any day passed without it makes you feel constipated. A habit which you defend at any cost. A year back my father set up a meeting with this amazing person who is, by the way, a very fantastic motivational speaker. He told me that if doing exercise makes me feel happy all day long then I should join a gym, no matter what are the charges and if financial scarcity arises then I should be ready to take up a part time job so as to reinforce my habit.
7. Spend some time alone in the lap of Mother Nature. Try to connect with her. Plan a vacation trip to a place where nature has bestowed its blessings. Disconnect yourself from the outer world and embrace the beauty.
8. Develop a passion and live for it. I am a drummer and a photographer. I never miss  a chance of attending live concerts, gigs or music competitions. My camera and my drumsticks are kind of vital body parts of mine. Do not care what others might think ( or read #3). If they criticize, let them do because people criticize only those persons who are good at something.
9. Go on a long drive alone or with your partner in the countryside. Can't explain the feeling. Its ecstatic.
10. Become creative. Learn any one musical instrument, any one dance form or any foreign language. Do not confine yourself to the thick lines of dumbness.

Again, this is not a TO-DO list for life. These are (and of-course not exhaustive) such experiences that help you connect the dots. They may differ from one person to another but the gist will not. So put up those shades you once bought, remove the rust that's choking you and start rollin' out. This world will definitely become Andamans if not Great Barrier Reef ;). AND YES! YOU CAN SNORKEL TOO. :D:D

The poetry from a superhit Bollywood movie, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara says it all loud - 

दिलों में अपनी बेताबियाँ लेकर चल रहे हो तो ज़िंदा हो तुम

नज़र में ख्वाबों की बिजलियाँ लेकर चल रहे हो तो ज़िंदा हो तुम

हवा के झोकों की तरह आज़ाद रहना सीखो 

तुम एक दरिया की तरह लहरों में बहना सीखो 

हर एक लम्हे से मिलो तुम खोले अपने बाहें 

हर पल एक  नया समाँ देखें ये निगाहें 

जो अपनी आखों में हैरानियाँ लेकर चल रहे हो तो ज़िंदा हो तुम

दिलों में अपनी बेताबियाँ लेकर चल रहे हो तो ज़िंदा हो तुम......

Face Recognition in Computer Vision

Hello everybody,

I am doing a project on Image Assessment and thought of sharing my views on this. I’ll try to explain a part of ComputerVision and Machine Learning. Both of these basically lie under the domain of Artificial Intelligence. The main focus of on-going researches in the field of computer vision revolves around object recognition. An object may be a face, person, other body parts or anything. Here we will talk about FACE RECOGNITION which has much broader practical application than any other object recognition.

Face recognition, essentially, is the process of identifying the person from his/her image with the help of algorithms. Just input the image of any person and the machine will tell his/her identity (given that the image is in database). Face recognition is basically a two-step process :

1.       Face Detection : Given an image, we have to detect the location and size of    face. This is a specific case of generic object detection.

2.       Face Recognition : Once a face is detected, we apply standard algorithms to recognize the identity of the person.

Pre-processing of the image is required sometimes to supplement the algorithms. It includes converting the face into grey-scale and then normalizing it. This is done after the detection phase.

Face Detection Algorithms : Viola-Jones Method is one of the widely used face detection algorithm which has features for face extraction and Haar cascade classifiers. You can read more about this algorithm here.

Face Recognition Algorithms : There are many algorithms available on face recognition. All of them  are statistical and probabilistic models in nature and the USP is the dimension reduction of the data which makes the process to occur in real-time scenario.  Some of them are :

1.       PrincipalComponent Analysis(PCA)/Eigenfaces (A very informative blog on     Eigenfaces can be read here.)

2.       LinearDiscriminant Analysis(LDA)/Fisherfaces

3.       LocalBinary Patter Histogram

4.       ElasticBunch Graph Matching

A very high level flow of above mentioned algorithms is described here :

IMAGE -> Face Space -> Feature Space -> Classifiers -> IDENTITY

Image is first detected and mapped to face space. Then by using mathematical model, they are mapped to very low dimensional feature space as compared to face space. Now it is compared to the database entries in same format and the entry having closest match with the image will be our result.


Detailed information on face recognition can be obtained from their homepage.

Since these are pure mathematical models and it doesn’t matter how far you go to make these algorithms better, they still cant match human processing efficiency. Some of the basic constraints of these algorithms are :

1.       Viewing angle – tolerant upto 15 degrees in both directions.

2.       Light sensitivity.

3.       Facial expressions.

4.       Background variation.

5.       Scaling.

6.       Occlusion (object coverance).

7.       Resolution of the image.

Some of these constraints can be removed to some extent by building a proper database. The best practice would be to have around 8-10 images of each individual with varying poses, expressions and light settings in the database. This will have enough support in identifying dynamic conditions.


These algorithms can be implemented using various computer vision libraries such as OpenCV by Intel, VXL, Camellia and Blepo. OpenCV is the commonly used one. It can be downloaded from this link.

I hope this post will prompt you to go deep into the world of Computer Vision. This is just a decade old research work and a lot is remaining to be revealed in this field.

The art of bringing life to stillness

Hello everyone!

We all have a little photographer inside us. Some of us take it and some dont. And there are also who can't. I borrowed this checklist from a very famous Street Photographer, Eric Kim and I thought of sharing with you guys.

1. Just because someone has an expensive camera doesn’t mean that they’re a good

photographer.

2. Always shoot in RAW.Always.

3. Prime lenses help you learn to be a better photographer.

4. Photo editing is an art in itself

5. The rule of thirds works 99% of the time.

6. Macro photography isn’t for everybody.

7. UV filters work just as well as lens caps.

8. Go outside and shoot photos rather than spending hours a day on photography forums.

9. Capture the beauty in the mundane and you have a winning photograph.'

10. Film isn’t better than digital.

11. Digital isn’t better than film.

12. There is no “magic” camera or lens.

13. Better lenses don’t give you better photos.

14. Spend less time looking at other people’s work and more time shooting your own.

15. Don’t take your DSLR to parties.

16. Girls dig photographers.

17. Making your photos b/w doesn’t automatically make them “artsy”

18. People will always discredit your work if you tell them you “photoshop” your images.

Rather, tell them that you process them in the “digital darkroom”.

19. You don’t need to take a photo of everything.

20. Have at least 2 backups of all your images. Like they say in war, two is one, one is none.

21. Ditch the neck strap and get a handstrap.

22. Get closer when taking your photos, they often turn out better.

23. Be a part of a scene while taking a photo; not a voyeur.

24. Taking a photo crouched often make your photos look more interesting.

25. Worry less about technical aspects and focus more on compositional aspects of

photography.

26. Tape up any logos on your camera with black gaffers tape- it brings a lot less attention to

you.

27. Always underexpose by 2/3rds of a stop when shooting in broad daylight.

28. The more photos you take, the better you get.

29. Don’t be afraid to take several photos of the same scene at different exposures, angles, or

apertures.

30. Only show your best photos

.
31. A point-and-shoot is still a camera.

32. Join an online photography forum.

33. Critique the works of others.

34. Think before you shoot.

35. A good photo shouldn’t require explanation (although background information often adds

to an image). *

36. Alcohol and photography do not mix well.

37. Draw inspiration from other photographers but never worship them.

38. Grain is beautiful.

39. Ditch the photo backpack and get a messenger bag. It makes getting your lenses and

camera a whole lot easier.

40. Simplicity is key.

41. The definition of photography is: “painting with light.” Use light in your favor.

42. Find your style of photography and stick with it.

43. Having a second monitor is the best thing ever for photo processing.

44. Silver EFEX pro is the best b/w converter.

45. Carry your camera with you everywhere. Everywhere.

46. Never let photography get in the way of enjoying life.

47. Don’t pamper your camera. Use and abuse it.

48. Take straight photos.

49. Shoot with confidence.

50. Photography and juxtaposition are best friends.

51. Print out your photos big. They will make you happy.

52. Give your photos to friends.

53. Give them to strangers.

54. Don’t forget to frame them.

55. Costco prints are cheap and look great.

56. Go out and take photos with (a) friend(s).

57. Join a photo club or start one for yourself.

58. Photos make great presents.

59. Taking photos of strangers is thrilling.

60. Candid>Posed.

61. Natural light is the best light.

62. 35mm (on full frame) is the best “walk-around” focal length.

63. Don’t be afraid to bump up your ISO when necessary.

64. You don’t need to always bring a tripod with you everywhere you go (hell, I don’t even

own one).

65. It is always better to underexpose than overexpose.

66. Shooting photos of homeless people in an attempt to be “artsy” is exploitation.

67. You will find the best photo opportunities in the least likely situations.

68. Photos are always more interesting with the human element included.

69. You can’t “photoshop” bad images into good ones.

70. Nowadays everybody is a photographer.

71. You don’t need to fly to Paris to get good photos; the best photo opportunities are in your

backyard.

72. People with DSLRS who shoot portraits with their grip pointed downwards look like

morons.

73. Cameras as tools, not toys.

74. In terms of composition, photography and painting aren’t much different.

75. Photography isn’t a hobby- it’s a lifestyle.

76. Make photos, not excuses.

77. Be original in your photography. Don’t try to copy the style of others.

78. The best photographs tell stories that begs the viewer for more.

79. Any cameras but black ones draw too much attention.

80. The more gear you carry around with you the less you will enjoy photography.

81. Good self-portraits are harder to take than they seem.

82. Laughter always draws out peoples’ true character in a photograph.

83. Don’t look suspicious when taking photos- blend in with the environment.

84. Landscape photography can become dull after a while.

85. Have fun while taking photos.

86. Never delete any of your photos.

87. Be respectful when taking photos of people or places.

88. When taking candid photos of people in the street, it is easier to use a wide-angle than a

telephoto lens.

89. Travel and photography are the perfect pair.

90. Learn how to read a histogram.

91. A noisy photo is better than a blurry one.

92. Don’t be afraid to take photos in the rain.

93. Learn how to enjoy the moment, rather than relentlessly trying to capture the perfect

picture of it.
94. Never take photos on an empty stomach.

95. You will discover a lot about yourself through your photography.

96. Never hoard your photographic insight- share it with the world.

97. Never stop taking photos

98. Photography is more than simply taking photos, it is a philosophy of life

99. Capture the decisive moment

100. Write your own list.

P.S. I own a Nikon D3100 and takes out my inner feelings through shutterbugging. You can visit

my photostream at flickr.

P.P.S. I would love to discuss and experiment this art with anyone who has a serious passion about this. Photographers and artists, please feel free to drop a comment and trigger a passionate discussion. Noobs too can join. :D:D

How to query a PACS server using DCMTK library

Hello Friends,

Well, this is my first ever blog and I am posting about how to make a query on a PACS server. PACS stands for Picture Archiving and Communication System. A PACS is a medical imaging technology which provides economical storage of, and convenient access to, images from multiple modalities (source machine types). PACS network is used to transfer and receive DICOM images. DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine) is standard for storing, handling, printing and transmitting information in medical imaging. It includes a file format definition and a network communication protocol.

Now coming to the point, how to query on a PACS server. For this, we need a client and client can be developed using DCMTK library. DCMTK is a collection of libraries and applications implementing large parts of the DICOM standard. It includes software for examining, construction and conversion of DICOM images files, handling offline media, sending and receiving images over a network communication, as well as demonstrative image storage and worklist servers. DCMTK is written in a mixture of ANSI C and C++. It comes in complete source codes and is made available as open source software.

So, here we start. I will stick to Windows OS, though it can be developed in Linux also.

• Download CONQUEST DICOM Server. It acts as a PACS Server on localhost.
• DCMTK needs to be compiled with a C++ compiler. For Windows, compatible compiler is Microsoft Visual C++. So download MS Visual Studio 2010 (or higher) and install it.
• You will be needing a cross-platform binary builder to generate the binaries from DCMTK source code. For this, download and install CMake. Its an open source software.
• Download the DCMTK 3.6.0 source code here.
• Run the CMake-gui and generate the binaries to a destination folder.
• Open MS VC++ in 'Administrator' mode and open the file ALL BUILD project file in the folder you specified in CMake destination folder.
• It will open around 82 project in Solution Explorer tab (in LHS of IDE). Right Click the first project 'ALL BUILD' and build it. It will take a considerable amount of time. :D
• After building, build the project named 'INSTALL'. This will make a new folder and install some directories in C:/Program Files/DCMTK (for 32-bit Win).
• VOILA!! DCMTK LIBRARY IS NOW CONFIGURED.

If I go on like this, you will definitely won't read it till the last. Its a bit exhaustive. So, I am gonna provide you a pdf file specifying everything about how to make a query. Right click on this link and select 'Save link as'. Header file (testscu.h) and source file (testdcmscu.cpp) can also be downloaded.

Thank You!

If you have any queries or suggestions, please feel free to contact me at ahirnish@gmail.com