August 2009

Raksha Bandhan

A very nice blog post of celebrating Raksha Bandhan in Mauritius

Swine Flu in Mauritius

pheww…the craze of the moment, the talk of the town

September 2009

Google in Mauritius

Great moments with the Googlers in Mauritius

How to hide your password

Some fun!

October 2009

My First International Conference Participation

Internet Data Centre Strategies was a conference of a very high level! At the same time I was also busy preparing for the launching of www.rtss.ac.mu for 2 October, Gandhi Day 2009 at RTI.

Mauritian Bazaar

Some fun!

November 2009

Prof Konrad Morgan: New UoM Vice-Chancellor

Encouraging blog comment from Prof. Morgan!

Google Wave: A new Communication Tool

An interesting research on this new E-Mail 2.0

Man, it’s not Carrot

Interesting discussion

December 2009

L’express.mu

Nice pictures taken by L’ express photographers

Well, that’s it: Some nice moments as a UoM Student/ Freelance Developer sharing via Web 2.0 during the year 2009!

Hey ! Thanks to wordpress.com for the nice Snowing Feature on the blog. This is amongst one of the reasons why I prefer to have my blog hosted on WordPress.com. The guys there, sometimes do amazing stuff!

Here’s the Pic of the Day!

Which one is mine, amongst the Three??

Finally the Rukmini Dwarka Dwesh Mandir is opening in Mauritius’ largest village Triolet! The Grand Opening Ceremony is scheduled as from 23 Nov till 29 Nov. There will be Bhagwad Katha everyday from 18:00 to 20:00 and Abhishek on 29 Nov.

This is the last time that we are having our usual ceremony in the small mandir. The latter was jam-packed today and believe me, the devotional level was at the highest. All devotees are happy for the Grand New Opening of Dwarka Dwesh Mandir…The first mandir in the world being located in Los Angeles and now the second one being opened in Mauritius, paradise island.

What surprised me is that there will be a “Raj Bhog” consisting of 1008 dishes! Wow Need to have a strong stomach for this… In the pic below is our new location for Mahaprasad, in the Open Air…

After Maheswarnath Mandir (The largest Shivalaye in Mauritius and the biggest one in Mauritius), here we are, Triolet is blessed with another one.

Here is the link for the location of the Mandir (Ahh, Google has not bought satellite images yet, hence the temple won’t be visible on the land)

Jai Shree Krishna!

National Day Celebrations 2009 at Champ de Mars

Some Anecdotes:

Hobbies and Interest (In a CV)

I like to enjoy doing X, Y, Z which forms part of the Mauritian Culture…

Another One:

In the HRM class, when starting the new chapter on Corporate Culture:

What is Mauritian Culture?
And then we have different answers from students:

• eating dhollpuri
• being lazy at work (not willing to work on sunday for eg.)
• being courteous
• enjoying Mauritian Sega
• having a preference for Mine Appollo, Achard, Cheddar Cheese and Tropical Fruits
• without forgetting the typical Mauritian Cuisine: Du riz blanc, rougaille, bouillon, brede and sachini pomme de terre
• having long queues at public utilities for bill payments since we don’t have computerised systems
• slow internet connection
• sending mauritian gifts on Facebook
• sharing tips when Telecommunication companies put promotions (Emtel/ Orange)
• la mer, beautiful fun
• freedom of speech in Mauritius
• Mauritians – kozer ki boukoup, agir moins
• Chauffeur Mauriciens
• solidaritE Mauriciens (no need to take rendez-vous before going at your relatives place) -
• Mauritianism – Jeux des Iles 1984 for eg.
• Kreol Maurisien
• Mauricien kone ” Tracer”
• Mauricien “bater bis”
• ban dialogues mauriciens ” ki position my army, eye husband Good, Big Weight”

Here is a blog post of mine on Culture whilst doing the Sociology module. From Wikipedia’s page of Culture of Mauritius, we can read:

Mauritian Literature:

While Kreol Morisyen (Mauritian Creole) is the most spoken language on in Mauritius, most of the literature is written in French, although many authors write in English, Bhojpuri, and Morisyen (Mauritian Creole), and others such as Abhimanyu Unnuth in Hindi. Mauritius’s renowned playwright Dev Virahsawmy writes exclusively in Morisyen.

Important authors include Malcolm de Chazal, Ananda Devi, Raymond Chasle, Loys Masson, Marcel Cabon, and Edouard Maunick.^{[citation needed]} Lindsey Collen has been able to carve out a meeting of imaginaries in the unique social setup of this multi-faceted country. Other younger writers like Shenaz Patel, Amal Sewtohul, Natacha Appanah, Alain Gordon-Gentil and Carl de Souza explore the issues of ethnicity, superstition and politics in the novel. Poet and critic Khal Torabully has put forward the concept of “coolitude,” a poetics that results from the blend of Indian and Mauritian cultural diversity. Other poets include Hassam Wachill, Edouard Maunick, Sedley Assone, Yusuf Kadel and Umar Timol.

The island plays host to the covetable Le Prince Maurice Prize, a literary award celebrating and recognizing ‘writers of the heart’. The award is designed to highlight the literary love story in all its forms rather than for pure Romantic Fiction. In keeping with the island’s literary culture the prize alternates on a yearly basis between English-speaking and French-speaking writers.

I have sometimes blogged on Mauritian Theatre, the web content which is a bit scarce.

Finally another anecdote:

Whilst at University, a classmate friend of mine asked:

“Are you Proud to be a Mauritian?”

For me, it was a stupid question on behalf of a Mauritian friend. I wonder if he has grown up singing the National Anthem whilst he was at Primary School!

I adored the subject: Creative Education at CPE level. You have to do a lot of cool stuff within the coursebook: from cutting potatoes and onions (which were used as brushes) to cutting fabrics and pasting them in the book.

At secondary level, I also wanted to do Arts at O-Level and then compete on the Arts side at A-level.

To even satisfy my passion as a Fine Arts artist, it was a pleasure for undergoing the Hobby  Course – Fine Arts offered by MGI in the Regional centres.

Painting is a passionate hobby for me, and I know friends who are intending to do a career in it. At the printing press, during the new design for my business card, I was impressed by the young guy doing very well in CorelDraw. I told him: I am still a Photoshop guy!

Despite the super computing power (via Macbooks, of course ) in the Digital Graphic world, nothing is betta than taking some pastel and a blank sketch pad page to churn out some creativity.

Long live Creativity, Imagination and State-of-the-Art design!

I was happy to purchase some books on eBay during Aug-Sept 09.  It was another pleasure to receive them at home as fast as: from 1 week to 3 weeks. Yupi! E-commerce rocks!

So here are the new books which are proudly in my bookshelf:

Professional Issues in Information Technology

Author: Frank Bott

Professional Issues in Information Technology is the only textbook tailored specifically to match the syllabus of the BCS Professional Examination compulsory Diploma module, Professional Issues in Information System Practice, in its entirety. And, I am preparing for my BCS Core Module, as you already know.

Essentials of Management Information Systems

Author: Kenneth & Jane Laudon

This second book is the Primary text for the BCS Graduate Diploma module: Management Information Systems. This book rocks!

Finance for IT Decision Makers – A Practical Handbook for Buyers, Sellers and Managers

Author: Michael Blackstaff

Since, I have a close relationship with the world of finance, I could not resist this BCS book. Finance for IT Decision Makers covers those aspects of finance relevant to IT professionals in both business and non-commercial organizations who make or influence decisions about IT.

And finally, the new book that is still in shipping progress is:

Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web

Author: Sir Tim-Berners Lee

I want to read a book from the inventor of the World Wide Web.

Happy Reading to me!

Today Morning, had the chance to be at Dad’s office. I had an interesting talk there with one of the officers who know me since childhood. And my this blog post is based entirely on this discussion.

In fact, the discussion started with Drama workshops being organised in primary and secondary schools. More details on the subject matter can be found on Ministry’s website concerning the Press Communiqué: Inter-Primary School and Inter-College Drama Competition 2009 (Mauritius and Rodrigues). I wanted a feedback of how is it going with the workshops being organised at the colleges/ primary schools and what about the new supply-coach being recruited for this competition??? And that is where the interesting point started…

you know Ashesh, once the son of a colleague came in my office. He is from Royal College Curepipe and is competing for State Scholarship. THE GUY COULD NOT EVEN HAD A NICE CONVERSATION WITH ME. Il était comme-si complétement immersé dans ses livres et le monde intellectual. I even wonder if he is aware of the term: “participating in extra-curricular activities organised by the school”. In the end, I told his Dad: Let your son break this introvertness by doing some theatre. This will greatly develop his personality for his whole life.

Eureka!

I completely agreed with the advice given.Personally, this was my case: during the primary school days, I was the guy who is most shy to talk with others (girls specially). My ears would become red if I would look in the eye of a girl class mate and I would find 101 ways to avoid talking to girls.

Then my life took a turning point when I was put to an audience of 300+ people to talk with on the stage, with lights spotted on you and so many eyeballs and observing your acting and appreciating your talent. I was even once interviewed in one of India’s TV Channel and I had to answer the journalist whilst I was a primary school guy (Standard 5)!!!

Honestly today,  I am satisfied of my communication skills. Some people complain that I talk too loud (that’s my normal tone, pal) but this is to ensure that my voice reaches my audience. For instance my presentations: First presentation at uni, Accounting,  Barcamp Ile Maurice 2,  Marketing, HRM, and last but not the least: Software Engineering!

Today, I had the great honour of presenting E-Learning philosophy and L’Internet pour tous to the staff of a secondary school. I was honestly very much stressed on the eve (during which I did a presentation on Google conference for) as I had prepared the powerpoint during a short time. But it was a nice shot. When I entered the lecture theatre, I did not panick and I was shy to present myself (an ex-student of MGI) to Head of Department Staff. And the mega lol part was that: I did not hesitate to use the lecturing style of Mr. Dirpal, geeky style of Mr. A. Meetoo and sarcastic style of Dr. House!

So you, yes you, why have the pain of adopting the obscure style of mad carrot man 6!!??!!

Develop the communication skills, join the UoM Drama Club, and do not hesitate to speak to your audience!!!

Raksha Bandhan (the bond of protection in Hindi and Panjabi) is a Hindu festival, which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters.

The festival is marked by the tying of a rakhi, or holy thread by the sister on the wrist of her brother.

The elder brother in return offers a gift to his sister and vows to look after her same while an elder sister returns offers to her younger brother. Rakhi return gifts are a symbol of his generosity and thoughtfulness. Rakhi return gifts may include jewellery, chocolates and a host of attractive combos.

The brother and sister traditionally feed each other sweets, a.k.a Ladoos! Photo Gallery of Modern Rakhis can be found here.

Le Raksha Bandhan ou Rakhi est une fête indienne qui célèbre le lien de fraternité qui unit deux êtres humains, qu’ils soient frère et sœur dans la vie de famille, ou qu’ils soient de sincères amis, comme des frère et sœur. Ce lien est représenté par un petit cordon que chacun attache à son poignet à l’occasion de ce jour particulier.

La Soeur accueille son frère avec l’aarti, sorte de plateau où brûle du camphre destiné à honorer un visiteur. Elle lui applique sur le front un tika de chandan (un point de safran) et lui attache au poignet droit le rakhi qui le protègera contre toute influence maligne.

Elle prie également avec ferveur pour son bonheur et son succès. Le frère, de son côté, renouvelle sa promesse de défendre l’honneur de sa sœur jusqu’à la dernière goutte de son sang, la sœur offrira ensuite une friandise ou une confiserie à son frère qui lui offrira le shagun, c’est-à-dire de l’argent en reconnaissance. Il déposera ce don dans un plateau nommé thali.

Le frère portera le rakhi toute la journée. Si le frère n’habite pas le pays, le rakhi lui sera envoyé par la poste ou par porteur. L’offre d’un rakhi est un privilège pour celui qui le reçoit.

Le Raksha-Bandhan Songs (Remember: Old is Gold!):

Every year we celebrate the Raksha Bandhan Festival in Mauritius. I have to stay at home and wait for sisters (including cousines). In the same way, dad waits for the aunties (phouphou) to come. Then we have the Traditional Rakhis tied, not the modern ones. I prefer the love that the sisters take whilst preparing the raksha sutra. Then have to leave the rakhi on my wrist for some days. They say that the maximum days you leave the rakhi in your hand the better it is. Being the youngest brother in the family, the cousines come at my place in the last position and sadly this can be even very late night. I remember once “getting tied” being half asleep. Also mum has to go at Grandma’s place in order to get the mamous tied!

Voila la chanson pour les fréres / soeurs:

To conclude, wishing all brother/ sisters in the world a Happy Raksha Bandhan! May this festival tighten even stronger the love between brothers n sisters (qui ne fait que chamailler la plupart du temps lol).

This is a follow up post from My Special Day, which contains maybe one of the best comments that I have moderated till yet.

I remember telling my new uni bestfriend about my feelings of being a new “Twenteen Guy”. Honestly it was like feeling like a grown up…It was different the first few weeks after I realised that things have changed.

New Uni Academic Life

The 2nd year at UoM was completely different with spicy modules like Human Resources Management and Database Systems. Equally funny and entertaining module like Foundations of IT Law, ahem ahem a module which is tailor made only for our course!

The second year was marked with different atmosphere amongst classmates. I was very sad for my uni best friend for not being able to make it to the second year. We used to enjoy a lot together and I always enjoyed her company.

Doing assigments and group works with friends has been an enriching experience. Different style of working, effective time management to tackle the assignment deadline constraints….phew

Driver life

Obtaining the driving license is not enough….You learn everything when you are put in action. I have learnt quite a lot till now and getting more mature for more to come in the world of automobile.

Career Orientation

Am even more determined to toil hard to shape the desired career path. Got the opportunity to witness impressive CVs and I find myself not always satisfied with my personal CV. I try to think about stuff which would make me “more employable” or in other words possessing assets having a return on investment in the long term.

Professionalism

I am obtaining a better insight about the IT industry. Much credit goes to the British Computer Society Professional Exams. Damn, the exams are really really to the professional level. Academic theory (Much like learning style at the uni) will not always pay off in the examinations room. Even worst, you get questions of real-life projects and case studies.

I am really happy to extend the network of professional in the industry and determined to ensure that networking  with professionals in other industry is not left behind in the agenda.

Marriage

Realise friends getting maried at a very young age. My perso opinion about this is that: NO! Its not the right time.  This is a very young age. Take your time to experience new stuff and take your time to enjoy your perso life. Getting committed with a “soul mate” at such a young age together with the “family package” is not appropriate in my humble opinion.

Practical Training 2009

This is a place where you are on the stage. Real spot lights on you, the settings and musical background all ready for you, for your performance. Apart from developing techincal skills, this training is here to help me get a real insight about the management style and corporate culture. Critical Thinking acquired during the Human Resources Management is the key.

This is a bit from the insight of the Twentees. I have gained more maturity and still there is more to go since have the opportunity to be exposed with the industry via Practical Training.

Sharing the goodness of being a UoM Student has been a great pleasure and fun doing via the wonderful blogging platform WordPress. The Mauritian Blogosphere and Twitterverse is also very young and dynamic. Its in constant evolution with more folks joining the highway of Web 2.0 and sharing this passion via the internet.

Cheers!

During college days, there is a special day attributed to reward academic excellence: Prize Giving Day. This day has always been special to me for many reasons i) to obtain the first prize ii) to enjoy the cultural show in the MGI auditorium iii) to return home and proudly show to parents the new prize being added to the collection.

Let’s do a flashback a bit………

Primary School days:

Std 3 to Std 5 : I came either first or second or exequo in General Subjects (Maths, French, English, E.V.S)

Std 3 to Std 6: Hindi -  came mostly first in my class or sometimes exequo with a girl classmate or she would came first and me second.

Secondary College days:

Form 3: First -Computer Studies

Form 4:First – Computer Studies

Form 5: Second – Computer Studies, Special Prize to the contribution to the Computing Dept.

Lower 6: First – Economics, Computing, Certificate of Excellence for contribution in the MGI college website

Upper 6: First – Computing, AS Hindi Laureate

University days

Well, at university level, its different. Some academics put emphasis on obtaining the “First Class” degree Grade in order to have a  chance to obtain a scholarship.

Interestingly, here is what our Software Engineering lecturer noted from his years of experience at the University:

1:1 Degree student: Either end up becoming a Lecturer or doing Research in Labs abroad

2:1 Degree student: Average Programmer

2:2 Degree student: Brillant Programmers (Surprisingly)

3rd Class students: Good Businessmen.

(NB: the lecturer “requested” for a study to confirm the above hypothesis of him)

In one of the interesting module I am studying, there is the tradition of awarding excellence reward to the student who comes first.

Whats your personal opinion on rewarding excellence, do you think this is an effective motivating factor?

Last year, I was performing in: Transport Gratis! It was a great fun to be in a mini bus, proudly holding the small flag and shouting : ‘Transport Gratis, Trasport Gratis’ along with other actors/actresses in the transport.

This year, I have the opportunity to enact in the scenario of the Administration of the French in M’tius.  And the cool stuff is that, in the cultural show, my fleet will be the first

10 March 09: A Stage rehearsal. The podium was already built. The MGI and Fracois Mitterand artists were rehearsing. Other artists were also present and preparing for the grand day. The first Aiders were present.

11 March 09: Got my costumes. pretty cool! Today another rehearsal is scheduled. Gonna be fun

Oops major rectification. I just had the rehearsal with costumes and all that! My part is not on the French administration. Its the float of Municipality of Port Louis. The vehicle will be very nicely set up. The setting is still under construction but I am sure it will be completed in the coming hours.

In fact, my acting is about Acting at Port Louis Theatre. Ya, I will be holding Swords! so Watch out

Trying out my new costume! The sword is real...

12 March 09:

Today is the Grand Jour. Happy National Independence Day to everyone. Proud to be Mauritian. A big bus came to fetch all the artists. We reached Champ de Mars happily. I don’t know why, I was thinking of sword fighting of Pirates des Caraïbes during the voyage. Well, we finally reached our destination. After we have been allocated our respecting class in Port Louis SSS (now it has been renamed), we were required to test-practice in our very beautifully decorated float!

Then time for make-up!

and here we are ready So how do I look? (wink wink)

Time to get on the action now! Here we are on the track and we wait for our turn…

watching the holicopters in the meanwhile..

Image Courtesy: Lexpress.mu (Photo: Vijay Dhunputh)

and the firings..

finally here we enter the scene. Honestly it was a bit difficult to act on a moving truck. Was feeling a bit afraid of any sudden stop or acceleration on the part of the driver who has received instructions carefully. The fun part was how the truck driver and Official got into the truck? notice that the Dodo edifice covered the two doors on the side.

Image Courtesy: Lexpress.mu (Photo: Vijay Dhunputh)

It was cool intensive fighting. At the same time maintain balance and concentrate whilst having the temptation to be distracted and have a look around. Then came the part when the truck passed near the General Public. As usual, comments were being shouted:

Oh la les Piratessssssssssss!

Zoroooooooooooo

Pirates Des Caraibes

Capitain Jack Sparrow!

Coup so licou!

etc etc

Finally, whilst we were having dinner at the college, we were delighted to watch the fireworks live before us which started at 20:00 to end at 20:15 approx.

Image Courtesy: Lexpress.mu (Photo: Vijay Dhunputh)

Overall, it was an amazing new experience and greater pride and much more feeling of patriotism when you form part of a National Cultural Show …..Long Live the Key and Star of the Indian Ocean!

3 Cheers for the Republic of Mauritius………..

Posted in Personal, Review, That's Life! Tagged: Mauritian Theatre, Mauritius ]]> http://asheshr.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/national-day-celebrations-2009-at-champ-de-mars/feed/ 12 curiousEngine maurice ashesh testing make up pic attack pic i firings photo feu http://asheshr.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/ambcs/ http://asheshr.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/ambcs/#comments Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:03:37 +0000 Ashesh http://asheshr.wordpress.com/?p=533 ]]>

Today I received the much awaited BCS membership pack at home! I was and still am very happy to read the cover letter with the title: Mr. AK Ramjeeawon AMBCS. “Dear Mr. Ramjeeawon, Congratulations on upgrading to Associate Membership. I am pleased to inform you that you have been successfully upgraded to Associate Membership of the BCS. Please find enclosed your new Membership Card and Certificate.”

I quickly had a glance at the new Membership Card and the post nominal letters AMBCS were……….simply great! and even to my pleasant surprise, the certificate was simply …………..fantastic! At the end of the Certificate it says: The holder of this certificate has undertaken to abide by the BCS Code of Conduct. I had once sticked this Code of Conduct into my wall when I recently had obtained BCS membership so that I can read them well.

Well I am very happy. I then read the Certificate Framing Service Form and Membership Plaque Order Form enclosed in the pack.

Still very happy when reading the “Welcome to BCS Membership” brochure. In the first page in the left, you see the pic above as in the blog post holding background for the Table of Contents, then on the right, Introduction message from David Clarke FBCS CITP, Chief Executive Officer. He says “On behalf of myself and the President of the BCS, I would like to welcome you to the BCS, the industry body for IT professionals.”

Concerning the Career Recognition, I quote:

“Post Nominal Letters – Set yourself apart from your peers with internationally recognised BCS post nominal letters for those members who are Associate and above e.g. Mr. John A Smith MBCS.”

The membership structure of the BCS consists of Ordinary, Professional and Chartered Status. BCS membership grades allow you to reflect your current professional status and are a show of recognition to the wider IT community including employers and customers.

Associate membership (AMBCS) is the first step on the ladder to Professional membership (MBCS) and is suitable to those with one year’s IT experience and/or relevant qualifications.

I don’t know what to say. I am so happy for having climbed the first ladder towards professionalism in my career. God bless me and God bless my well-wishers!

Image Courtesy: LExpress.mu

Last year, I went to pilgrimage for Maha Shivratree. This year also has been the same case, well not totally the same. I realise some important concepts  made in the blog post and the blog comment. I quote:

In the morning, Pundit Ji explained the importance of carrying a Kanwar: to put the bottle of sacred water collected from the Pari Talao and to return to offer the water to Lord Shiva by carrying the Kanwar on shoulders.

and also Chaya’s comments which you can read.

Well both people had the right grounding and understanding of the purpose of carrying a Kanwar.

To my positive surprise, I got the opportunity to see University of Mauritius Kanwar at Ganga Talao. Nice initiative

This year’s pilgrimage has been special to me. I really got the golden opportunity to walk with ‘Classic’ Kanwar. They are made out of Rafia and put on your shoulders, you barely feel any carrying problem. A childhood friend was even able to run with the Kanwar given it was not heavy. We were 4 Classic Kanwars walking together. I was really impressed by being Traditional but Effective.

I am very happy to be able to Dance with the Kanwar. Yes, it was really really a cool moment. The dancing kanwarthis become the center of attraction. Clapping of hands, fast pace of the bhajans, coordinating movements, rotating with the kanwar, everyone observing the grace and contentment of the Kanwarthis of the return to his appropriate village/town where s/he set off.

It started when the van which contained the singing people stopping a while before a speed breaker. Then at the appropriate location, 3 kanwarthis were just magnificent. You just have to watch and enjoy and clap your hands to accompany them.

Another important part I notice during this year pilgrimage is the importance of knowing/speaking the local dialect – Bhojpuri. It helps. It fosters a strong bond. Given we cannot all speak Hindi, at least Bhojpuri we can. I was explaining this to my uni  classmate who has just installed in Triolet.

Last but not the least, this year, got the opportunity to pray at the largest Shivlinga in M’tius: at La Flora. It’s an amazing amazing experience there. I could not believe that such a good holy place exists. There is the river just alongside and cool silence and a prevailing praying atmosphere. We also got to go at Mama Tookay. Again, I went there for the first time this year and the same great experience I got.

Am hyper happy! 2009 proved to be a special year of pilgrimage.

Tomorrow Char Pahar ki Puja. Got to prepare…

An update: 23 Feb , 07 15 pm.

Still preparing for the puja. almost got all the samaan, just buy a few at Tabajie.

Well today we saw the presence of our Prime Minister, his wife, Devanand Ritoo, Satish Faugoo at the Shivala, along with Mr. Dulthumun. Hmmm no comments.

I was talking with some tourists after the Puja. explaining them a bit about the festival etc. and to my nice surprise they asked at Politics and religion.  that was a bit unexpected but I answered that the M’tian media warned the representatives of religious bodies to not do “politics” during their speech.

I had a nice quick chat with the French people and then brought them to show the Kanwars a bit.

Hey, i’ve managed to upload the pics on my Flickr stream. Here they are (just ignore the date, forgot to set them on my kodak):

The most beautiful kanwar for the Year 2009! I really love the design and execution of this masterpiece. Especially the Bal Krishna murti on the left.

The rest of the pics on Flickr set: Maha Shivratree 2009

Last but not the least, here is my favourite sound track for Maha Shivratree 2009. You can download it from:

http://ramjeeawon.info/ashesh/shivLingam.zip

Have a Pious Maha Shivratree 2009!

My well-wishers, Here’s the good news:

Dear Mr Ramjeeawon

We are delighted to advise you that your application to upgrade your
membership has been accepted.

Please allow 7-10 days (UK) or 21 days (overseas) for the receipt of your
membership pack, which will include your membership card and membership
certificate.

Should you have any further questions regarding your membership, please do
not hesitate to contact our Customer Service Department on 0845 300 4417
(UK) or + 44 (0)1793 417424 or visit www.bcs.org/contact

Membership Operations Department
BCS 01793 417467

Which means that I have upgraded my Membership from Student to Associate. I am now an Associate member of the British Computer Society. Coooooooooooooool

The ever more cool stuff is the post-nominal title: AMBCS.

A strange co-incidence, exactly one year and 1 day ago, I received my Student Membership.

Yupi yu, I am happy!

Believe me, it was a hell of a time last Saturday 14 (Valentine’s Day). I was watching Inside Man on TV and wow, it was very terrifying moments. To my unpleasant surprise, my livebox  was Dead snif snif

Back to the stone age…

Today got advice from the MT technician to henceforth disconnect the device from power in case such events re-occur.

Well, after getting back the internet connection,

• me checked my gmail: got nice contacts from my blog (Thesis on M’tian bloggers) and portal (BCS exams 2009).
• updated my Google Calendar – Tuesday no lectures and replacement class and test postponement
• logged in on the chat, for a few hi, hello
• checked facebook friend requests (phew, the network of friends/relatives is growing )
• checked lecture notes on CSE website
• and now updating my blog!

Let’s get back to work as a Web Worker now !

Well, now the Certificate modules have been nailed successfully , its time to open new doors, that of Diploma in IT. Here are the blog posts related to BCS Certificate in IT:

My First BCS Module posted on 22 April 2008

Knock Knock: BCS exams posted on 3 October 2008

How was the “Certificate experience”?

It was pretty cool. For the first time I got the opportunity to appreciate Computer Hardware, given basically am a Software guy. The module Computer & Network Technology was very helpful for upbringing my maturity in the field of hardware. I also purchased a book on Hardware which is:

I was not hyper confident in this module given am not a fan or Registers, Addressing modes, Fetch-Execute cycle, Boolean Algebra & Logic Circuits, Memory System, Truth table, karnaugh map, Instruction Sets, Number Systems, History of Computers.

For me, all these terms are maybe Geeky stuff, while maybe I consider myself to be Nerd!

The book: Principles of Computer Hardware by Alan Clements (as mentioned in the Knock knock: BCS exams blog post) was of great help.

Now lets talk a bit about the new doors that I have to open in my career.

The BCS Diploma in IT has the following shape:

Diploma in IT

This is the Diploma level of BCS Professional Examinations.

This level is the academic equivalent to Year 2 of a UK university honours degree and is recognised by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) as Level 5.

By beginning the Diploma in IT level course BCS assumes knowledge of the Certificate in IT level modules (or exemption) and focuses on the following:

• Professional Issues in Information Systems Practice (Core Module)
• Computer Networks
• Database Systems
• IT Project Management
• Object Oriented Programming
• Systems Analysis (Last ever exam October 2010)
• Principles of Internet Technologies (April only)
  (this module has replaced The Internet & World Wide Web and is not available for online registration)
• IT Service Management April only
• Software Engineering 1 (April only)
• Systems Design (April only - Last ever exam April 2010)
• Principles of User Interface Design (April only)

BCS recommends a minimum of 225 hours study per module. The course culminates in a 2 hour written exam focusing on the one core module and each of the three optional modules of your choice.

Completion of the Diploma Examinations level means you are eligible to apply for BCS Membership if you have 3 years’ experience as an IT professional.

Yes, more hours of study. I was skimming the materials and find the level has increased.

For the April Sitting, I am concentrating on:

1. IT Service Management
2. Database Systems
3. Software Engineering 1

Keep connected, I am going to post my experience in studying these BCS modules. I have already started to post and here are the tags:

http://asheshr.wordpress.com/category/british-computer-society/it-service-management/

http://asheshr.wordpress.com/category/british-computer-society/database-systems/

http://asheshr.wordpress.com/category/british-computer-society/software-engineering/

Aller Bon courage, lets attack the Diploma Module and remember: we never back down!

hurray! Good news, good news, cheers !

I got the letter from England. To my great delight, I passed the remaining 2 modules required for me to obtain my Certificate in IT. Quote from BCS website:

This level is the academic equivalent to Year 1 of a UK university honours degree and is recognised by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) as Level 4.

The Certificate in IT focuses on the following core modules:

* Information Systems

* Software Development

* Computer & Network Technology

BCS recommends a minimum of 200 hours study per module and the course culminates in a 2 hour written exam focusing on all three core modules.

Completion of the Certificate in IT level means you are eligible to apply for BCS Associate Membership (AMBCS).

To my great surprise, in the Software Development module, I got 86%! This is incredibly great. am very happy

Another great news to be happy is that today is the proclamation of HSC results.  Congrats to the HSC 2008 laureates. It is very nice to see a laureate from the prestigious college Droopnath Ramphul SSS. And concerning MGI, there are after-laureates, as usual. The new era of HSC pass results comes from our sister college RTI with a 95% pass rate. That’s a good effort RTI. Long live MGI/RTI!!!

Congrats to all those who have brillantly passed their exams! cheers! keep up the good effort, remember: Hard work is fruitful.

Elie Kakou is one of the French Comedian whom I admire a lot! Enjoy the few videos. Laugh to your max and have fun

Elie Kakou doit faire de la publicite pour Plouf – la nouvelle lessive pour les taches rebel!

You put in the water, you wash it you wash it, you rinse you rinse you rinse, you smell and it smell like a flower

Prof de Geo

ca doit etre claire entre vous et moi !

Passion

and lastly, our guest video:

New Year – New Windows XP installation implies

Here are the software that I have to install on my laptop which already is living happily with openSUSE 11.1 (dual boot):

Apple:

1. iTunes
2. QuickTime
3. Safari

Google:

1. Desktop Search (My fav. widgets: Google Calendar Gadget, Intel Performance Power Monitor, Universal Currency Converter, Scratch Pad, Analog Clock,  Google Power Monitor)
2. Picassa
3. Earth Pro
4. Chrome

Adobe:

1. Photoshop
2. Acrobat Reader Pro
3. Dreamweaver
4. Audition
5. Flash
6. Illustrator

Sun:

1. Netbeans / Eclipse
2. BlueJ
3. Java JDK

Microsoft:

1. Microsoft Office 2003
2. Visio 2007
3. Visual Studio 2005
4. SQL Server 2005 + SQL Server Management Studio
5. Visual Basic 6.0 Enterprise Edition
6. MSDN
7. Encarta Student 2008
8. Internet Information Services (IIS)
9. Live Mail, Live Writer
10. Accounting Express

Utilities:

1. ObjectDock Plus
2. DreamAquarium
3. SharpReader (RSS Aggregator)
4. Avast Antivirus
5. Mozilla Firebox (with my fav addons: del.icio.us, fireFTP, FlagFox, AdblockPlus, StumbleUpon)
6. Winzip/ Winrar
7. FoxIT Reader
8. PostGreSQL
9. USB Safely Remove
10. Flash Decompiler Trilix
11. CuteFTP Professional
12. Cyberlink PowerDVD 8
13. Notepad++
14. Mio Toolbox
15. SwishMax
16. MagicISO
17. RescueTime
18. Flickr Uploader
19. Camtasia Studio 5
20. FlashGet
21. BitTorrent
22. DivX player
23. RealAlternative
24. SecondLife
25. Last.fm Scrobbler
26. WireShark
27. PacketTracer
28. Tortoise CVS
29. WinPatrol
30. Xara 3D
31. Nero

Software To explore:

VLC

Blender

Freemind

From Open Source

From Microsoft

Source: askmen.com

No.1 - Play strategic games

Why? Strategic gaming allows you to truly test your wits and match them against those of an opponent. Improving strategic thinking will improve response time when presented with similar real-world situations.

How? Board games, pen-and-paper games, online games or video games — choose your weapon.

No.2 - Stop smoking

Why? Aside from all the other ill effects that burning tobacco elicits, smoking may also be a risk factor for dementia and cognitive decline, particularly in the elderly.

How? This is the million dollar question isn’t it? Quitting smoking isn’t easy, but it is entirely possible. What is required most is determination: the will to want to quit smoking.

No.3 - Take on a creative hobby

Why? Creative endeavors train the right side of the brain, whereas logic and reasoning flex the left. Keeping both sides of the brain in peak condition will ensure greater total brainpower.

How? Take an hour of your week and dedicate it to a creative hobby: painting, drawing, woodworking, photography or evencooking. If you lack self-motivation, try taking a community workshop. Who knows? You might just end up in a room full of free-spirited females.

No.4 - Start reading

Why? There’s no denying the power of reading and its mental benefits. The reality, however, is that literary reading is currently in decline, probably being replaced by digital and online sources.

How? Pick up a book and read it, cover to cover. Do some research first — asking friends or skimming online reviews — to ensure that the content will keep you interested.

No.5 - Play logic puzzles

Why? Logic puzzles beef up the lovely left side of your brain, improving reasoning and speed-logic processing.

How? Open any major newspaper, buy a logic puzzle book, pick up a brain-training video game or check out an onlinebrain-training website.

No.6 - Take a course

Why? Knowledge is power, remember?

How? Pursue an online degree or check out your local university for continuing-education classes. Taking even one evening course can be a nice break from work and can get you thinking in new, exciting ways.

No.7 - Eat your greens

Why? Dark green veggies are high in the vitamins and antioxidants that help prevent mental decline: vitamin E(broccoli, spinach), vitamin C (broccoli), iron (broccoli), andvitamin B (dark-leaf lettuce).

How? Make a made-for-brain salad using spinach leaves, dark-leaf lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, blueberries, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and olive oil. Throw in some grilled chicken or boiled egg whites for some lean protein, down your feast with plenty of water and you’ll feel those brain juices flowing in no time.

No.8 - Boost your cardio

Why? Cardiovascular exercise enhances cognitive functions, slows cognitive decline and improves overall metabolism and energy.

How? Get to the gym, go for a run or purchase some exercise equipment. Exercise bikes are relatively inexpensive compared to treadmills or elliptical machines, and can still offer great cardiovascular benefits if used consistently.

No.9 - Relax

Why? Stress exerts mental energy and decreases mental efficiency.

How? Practice some relaxation techniques or take a community yoga/meditation class

No.10 - Get more sleep

Why? Lack of sleep affects all body systems, particularly cognitive functions like memory and attention span. Lack of sleep can also have a snowball effect, affecting future sleep, making the condition chronic.

How? Get yourself into a healthy bedtime routine. Start your wind-down early with no late-night meals, video games or workouts. Particularly during the winter months, get to bed earlier to maximize your exposure to sunlight — this should help with mood and alertness.

2009 is finally here. Its time for something new on my blog. I think I am a bit “not too funny” on the blog posts, isn’t? So here it is: my new tag to entertain you throughout-

Mauritian Theatre

We intend to talk about Drama, Acting, Miming,  Short Plays, One-length plays, Drama Competitions, New Actor/ Actress Talent, Director’s Talent, Production team, rehearsals, costumes, makeup, decor, mauritian theatres, world-class theatres/ plays, everything related to this fascinating part of the rich Mauritian Culture. Fasten your seat belt, the show is going to start………….:D

DO YOU LIKE GOING TO THEATRES?

ARE YOU EXCITED TO DISCOVER NEW TALENTS AND MINDBLOWING PRODUCTION ON THE STAGE IN MAURITIUS?

ARE YOU FASCINATED BY THE WONDERFUL DECOR?

THE MAKE UP IS SOMETHING THAT YOU LIKE TO APPRECIATE?

LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST, YOU LIKE ACTING?

If so, join the plane aboard, fasten your seat belt and let’s enjoy the ride! Despite the busy university life, freelancing, I promise to post the maximum possible on the “Mauritian Theatre” tag. If you think you can help me by emailing me an article, or writing collaboratively (I could provide you with a user name/ password to write on my blog on this theme), or sending me photos, videos, please do not hesitate to do so. I humbly think that bringing the Mauritian Theatre on the web would be an exciting experience and I want to share it with my blog readers. Thank you and Happy New Year!

The New Year gives us a clean slate, allowing us to leave bad habits behind, while looking forward to a brighter, more positive future.  We feel confident that just as a whole calendar year can change in a 10 second countdown, we too can change our attitudes, conquer our demons, and gain tons of willpower all in the blink of an eye.

So first, let us review my post in December 2007: Boosting my career in 2008.

As an IT professional, I think I have grown up a bit. Creating professional contacts within personalities in the IT industry, I have started doing so in 2008 and honest my Student Membership to the British Computer Society and participation to Barcamp Mauritius has helped me a lot.

Ya, I am more prepared now to go for interviews. I can rip the interviewer down!

I do talk business and I have understood owning to my Freelance experience that: Business is Business!

Unfortunately, my French has not improved yet, as expected. snif snif

and my 2009 new year’s resolutions are:

1. Personality

Able to control my personality between Dr. House, Alan Shore and myself. I agree I imitate these personalities whom I admire so much, but still I believe that my personality also has “something special”. Their critical thinking abilities, professional persona – decision making skills, charisma, intelligence, sharpness, confidence in their speech, analysis skills, efficient communication skills etc etc..

2. Be careful on the Road, especially with a Racing car which is New

Not to drive too fast. Yeps, I have the tendency to easily go beyond the speed limit in M’tius. Now that we have trackers installed in the country, gotta be more careful.

3. Good Reading habit

I want to finish reading what I started to read. Often I take many interesting books (I take the Student ID of other friends to be able to take more books from the UoM library) but I try to read them all. Unfortunately in doing so, I end up by reading on one book completely or none.

4. Photography

To get the damn Kodak repaired (It sadly says: The camera needs E10 service – I wonder what it is?). I want to upload my original photos on Flickr. I want to express my creativity as an artist in the world of Digital Photography. I hope 2009 will present good opportunities to develop this “hidden talent” of mine!

5. Vodka and Zinger – Pineapple and Cheese

Reduce drastically. More Exercise and Martial Arts! I am determined to be Hercules this coming year, ya jokes apart

6. Going Classic and Sexy!

hmm, difficult to explain just watch and appreciate me True, I’ve always hated classic but the heart-touching compliments from the beautiful gurls maybe changed my mind

7. Take even more pleasure and enjoyment in what I love doing

8.Priorities

Sometimes I have many items in my agenda. Also my problem : I try to be a perfectionist and achieve excellence. Big Problemo: TIME CONSTRAINT. Therefore I will work my best for the top no. 1 priority in the list of agenda items.

9. Relax myself

I want to master good relaxing techniques, particularly meditation and Raja Yoga- control of the mind.

10. Last but not the least: Honour my family.

Let the family’s name shine and sparkle up to the highest standards! my HSC performance created a hope in them, I don’t want to disappoint anyone. I will do my best. At MGI, the Gandhian Philosophy: Patience, Perseverance and Truth are still guiding me. I want to honour my teachers/ lecturers. I want to honour my teaching institution. I want to honour my country. (euhh, I hope am not sounding awkward a bit here…. lol)

Every new year people make resolutions
to change aspects of themselves
they believe are negative.

A majority of people revert back to how
they were before and feel like failures.

This year I challenge you to a new resolution.
I challenge you to just be a better you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009! muahhhhhhhhhhh, groses bises!

Here is the year 2009 in preview by Chief Editor of ZDNET:

http://news.zdnet.com/2422-13568_22-255496.html

last but not the least, enjoy the Jingle Bell (Crazy Frog )

Funny one:

We Wish You a Merry Christmas (audio only):

Looney tunes:

Dashing through the snow
In a one horse open sleigh
O’er the fields we go
Laughing all the way
Bells on bob tails ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to laugh and sing
A sleighing song tonight

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh

A day or two ago
I thought I’d take a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
Was seated by my side
The horse was lean and lank
Misfortune seemed his lot
We got into a drifted bank
And then we got upsot

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh yeah

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one horse open sleigh