Ankit Patel

How many shoes?

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:38:25 -0500

Meatloaf

*NIX Sorcery: chmod -x chmod

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 14:42:52 -0400

What does one do after running “chmod -x chmod”? For the unfamiliar, chmod is the little utility that allows you to essentially change the permissions of files (as well as a few other neat things). That command there will unset the executable bit on the chmod utility. After this change, one can no longer change the permissions of any file. No one except the sorcerers of *NIX systems.

My first thought was to steal some other utility’s executable bit. My solution was to effect of :

cp cat my_chmod
cat chmod > my_chmod
mv my_chmod chmod

The other solutions are rather ingenious. Take a look and be amazed.

The Problem with Credit

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 01:35:00 -0400

After careful review, we are unable to approve the application because you do not have a sufficient number of credit references and you do not have sufficient established revolving credit accounts.

This is not the first time I have received a letter containing this in the first paragraph, but it has managed to hit the right nerve that has inspired me to mobilize my creative, ridiculous writing faculties. I am thoroughly disappointed with the state of the magical world of “Credit” in the country. A friend of mine recently said that credit is a luxury. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. Without a good credit rating, one will have a hard time finding a place to live, taking out loans, and even getting a job. For some reason, not being able to pay your bills on time because you have been out of work can actually prevent you from getting a job. Being fresh out of college without having taken out loans or got a credit card will quickly work against you as a lack of a credit rating will prevent you from getting a lease on an apartment. Having a credit card, or some way to build credit, is no more a luxury than having the means to feed oneself.

So, part of the rejection form letter is the option to get a guarantor on the card who serves no purpose but to be a meat shield in the event I do something stupid with my credit card and someone’s credit score needs to take a hit. My nonexistent credit rating can’t be lowered, but the threat of someone else’s score being affected should make me use the card in a wiser manner. Well, that’s just ridiculous. The terms explicitly state that the guarantor cannot obtain a card for my account or use my card for any charges.

Every now and then, my creativity starts to flow as I avoid tackling the ever increasing mountain of academic work that piles up at RIT over the course of a week. I have decided to provide a counter offer to the organization that denied me this most recent time.

To whom it may concern:

Recently I applied for a card, reference number: ########. My application was denied because I do not have a sufficient number of credit references and do not have sufficient established resolving credit accounts. I was under the impression that a student credit card was designed to provide the opportunity to build credit. I suppose I am quite irresponsible for assuming this and continuing to make purchases by myself, work two jobs while at school, and continue to work elsewhere for 6 months out of the year.

I can certainly understand that not having a credit history should preclude one from obtaining a credit card designed to build credit history. Just like I can understand starving children in Africa should be precluded from eating on the basis of not having had a proper meal in the past. Their lack of sufficient references regarding having eaten a full meal in the past combined with their lack of revolving nutrition intake is certainly something to be concerned with. I was once asked to donate canned goods to these children in the country of Kenya by a high school student volunteering over the summer who was certainly a pleasant young woman. However, upon examining her request for donations, the current economic trends, current studies regarding nutrition for growing children, and their diet history, I decided that it would not be the correct decision at that time.

I told the young woman that although I am unable to donate given the initial request, I would invite her to submit another request with the addition of a qualified guarantor. A guarantor would be someone the child in Kenya knows who is at least 21 years of age and has established a large waistline. They would not be able to eat the food, nor would they be able to touch the food. The guarantor would provide the additional assurance that the food will be managed in a responsible manner, while also helping the child establish a larger waistline.

I explained that I would like her to resubmit her request with the addition of a guarantor. She was instructed to share the terms with the guarantor and instructed to resubmit the request in writing to an address I provided her on a postpaid envelope. I told her I looked forward to her taking advantage of this opportunity to feed hungry children and benefit from the superior personalized donation services of Ankit Patel that sets me apart from my competitors. I looked forward to serving her donation needs.

The young lady never did resubmit her request. It may have been because she used the envelope I had provided to dry the tears from her eyes after I explained the terms; the ink may have been smudged beyond recognition, and she may have lost the contact number I provided. This was certainly unfortunate as I truly wanted to feed the starving children in Africa. However, I am sure the Credit Department can understand that I cannot blindly trust requests for food.

I am not going to resubmit my credit card application with a guarantor. I will however ask you to reconsider my application based on the following facts:

I am a full time student enrolled at the Rochester Institute of Technology

I hold two jobs on campus
One position as a senior helpdesk representative in charge of interfacing with RIT computer users and various IT teams at RIT

The second as a course grader for a Computer Science course where I must analyze, debug, and grade computer programs written by other students.

I successfully obtained employment for 6 months every year during my freshman year

By virtue of not needing to apply for a loan or credit card, I have been able to carefully manage my finances.

Of course, I can see how this would make providing a credit card to me a risk that cannot be afforded by Bank of America at this time. It is rather unpredictable what I may do with a credit card with a preset limit. I may go out and purchase something and max out the limit without understanding that I would have to pay off the credit card bill. On the other hand, I may use the card to make small purchases that I would traditionally make with my debit card and pay them all off before or at the end of a monthly billing cycle.

I thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and I welcome you to contact me if there is any reconsideration regarding my application which should still be on file. I can be reached by phone at [Phone], by email at [email], or by mail at [Address]. Incidentally, if you wish to make a donation to starving children in Kenya, consider visiting the following sites: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/kenya-food-crisis.htm and http://www.wfp.org/.

Sincerely,

Ankit

So this little gem may have made my day. The Guild is awesome...

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:48:00 -0400

So this little gem may have made my day.

The Guild is awesome as it is, but then they have their random music videos that are just bursting with geeky goodness.

They went Bollywood for this one, and the results are hilarious

Original Post from the Guild blog

Twilight for Men

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 22:59:49 -0400

Twilight for Men:

Despite being so horrible, it is on the same level as Twilight. The writing style is almost the same and the plot and characters are just as deep.

Obama plays Modern Warfare 2. Thanks to Gerardo for this gem.

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:47:46 -0400

Obama plays Modern Warfare 2.

Thanks to Gerardo for this gem.

Further proof that Futurama is both Awesome and Intelligent

Sat, 15 May 2010 13:31:37 -0400

Further proof that Futurama is both Awesome and Intelligent:

New episodes of Futurama are expected to be aired this year. In an APS News exclusive, Cohen reveals for the first time that in the 10th episode of the upcoming season, tentatively entitled “The Prisoner of Benda,” a theorem based on group theory was specifically written (and proven!) by staffer/PhD mathematician Ken Keeler to explain a plot twist. Cohen can’t help but chuckle at the irony: his television-writing rule is that entertainment trumps science, but in this special case, a mathematical theorem was penned for the sake of entertainment.

How to perform CPR is something that could be useful in the long...

Thu, 13 May 2010 21:12:52 -0400

How to perform CPR is something that could be useful in the long run. If not, then you can at least enjoy Super Sexy CPR.

Pure CSS3 Spiderman Cartoon w/ jQuery and HTML5 – Look Ma, No Flash!

Tue, 04 May 2010 22:55:25 -0400

Pure CSS3 Spiderman Cartoon w/ jQuery and HTML5 – Look Ma, No Flash!:

Take some CSS3, thrown in some jQuery and mix it together with some HTML5 and you get the potential for dynamic animations without the use of Flash.

NJ Kyleigh's Law - Really?

Mon, 03 May 2010 19:50:59 -0400

So I was bored one afternoon and wrote a letter to the Assemblywomen and Senator from my district.

For those unfamiliar with Kyleigh’s Law, it went into effect May 1, 2010 and requires that all drivers with a provisional license under the age of 21 mark their vehicles with a red decal to make them easily identifiable on the road.

Naturally, I have concerns about anything that marks anyone as under the age of 21. Considering how most of the drivers with a provisional license are under the age of 18, this raises even more concern. Sure it may make it easier for a law enforcement officer to identify a 17 year old driver, but it will also make it easier for someone looking for jailbait to spot a mark.

Apparently the state legislature has many members that have realized how useless this law is and are working to stop the program.

Here is my letter to the Senator and Assemblywomen:

SUBJECT: Kyleigh’s Law

The idea is to provide all provisional drivers with a decal that will identify that as a person under the age of 21 with a provisional license.The claim is that it will make driving safer for teen drivers. Unfortunately, it will do no such thing. The primary cause of driving accidents and deaths are irresponsible drivers. Sticking a shiny red tag on a license plate will not make drivers more responsible. What shiny red tags will do, however, is establish a method by which one may identify a driver under the age of 21 rather quickly. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, law enforcement personnel, state officials, parents, other motorists, pedophiles, serial killers, criminals, religious authorities, school teachers, etc.
Now there is certainly some merit to force someone under the age of 21 to carry a stamp to announce it to the world. There is no need for a law enforcement officer to pull over a person driving in a responsible fashion with two or more passengers. However, if that driver happens to have a shiny red tag on his or her license plate, then there awaits a potential source of vital income that could help save the state’s budgetary issues.Additionally, it can enforce the restriction on a provisional permit that indicates that there can only be one additional passenger in the car, but to a lesser extent.

However, in speaking of the budgetary issue, mandatory decals for cost are genius! The red tags sell for $4 at the MVC and the MVC anticipates that 500,000 will be sold in the first year of the program. Well that’s a nice $2 million dollars for the state there, not including the fee to get the learner’s permit and the cost to obtain the provisional license. This is pure financial genius. Combine those with the $100 fine for those caught without the decal; there will be some significant income from this. However, why stop at drivers under the age of 21. Creating a tag system for drivers could ensure the safety of everyone. For example, a mandatory decal to indicate the driver is an elderly person would certainly make the roads safer.

I suppose something significant is the decline in teenage driving related deaths since 2006. 68 teen deaths were reported in 2007, followed by 59 in 2008, and then 42 in 2009. Curiously, the number is decreasing somehow. I suppose that a shiny red decal will lower this number even more, it’s much more likely that an irresponsible driver will be stopped before anything bad can happen and can be assisted by law enforcement personnel and pedophiles, both with almost equal probability, although slightly higher for the law enforcement personnel as there is no motivator greater than money.

Kyleigh’s law will prove to be an ineffective law when it comes to reducing teenage driving related deaths. However, the program will be considered a success because teenage deaths from driving will decrease after the program goes live on May 1. However, correlation does not imply causation as the trend of decreasing deaths can be observed from years past.

Overall, this law is a wonderful way to make the state some extra money and make life easier for those on the search for young drivers under the age of 21.

The chief of staff from Assemblywoman Connie Wagner’s office was kind enough to respond. It wasn’t quite as long as my original letter…

I’ll be sure to let the Assemblywoman know how you feel. We’ve gotten several emails from concerned parents on this issue. I can assure you the intention of the legislation is to help police officers to better enforce the current laws reagarding younger drivers. There is currently a move in the legislature to stop the decal program, I will let you know if there is any progress on it.

Resistive Touchscreen Design

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:41:12 -0400

When designing a touchscreen application, it makes sense according to Fitts’s Law to place elements at the corners of the screen. However, the purpose is defeated when the corners of the screen lack sensors to pick up on presses in that region. This has been bugging me for quite some time now. How was this not detected at some point earlier in the testing phase?

Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders - Red Light Fever

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:08:56 -0400

Taylor Hawkins & The Coattail Riders - Red Light Fever:

Taylor Hawkins, the drummer from the Foo Fighters, is streaming some tracks from his new side project. What’s the catch? They’re in 8-track quality, complete with hissing, clicking, and the occasional popping.

Retro-ly awesome.

An excellent talk by Dan Meyer discussing the problem with...

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 17:46:46 -0400

An excellent talk by Dan Meyer discussing the problem with current math textbooks, particularly how material and problems are presented. He touches on how the current format limits potential discourse when introducing new material and tries to cater to how society, in general, views problems.

“Math makes sense of the world. Math is the vocabulary for your own intuition.”

There’s a winning quote.

Dan Meyer teaches high school math outside of Santa Cruz, CA, and explores the intersection of math instruction, multimedia, and inquiry-based learning. He received his Masters of Arts from the University of California at Davis in 2005 and Cable in the Classroom’s Leader in Learning award in 2008. He currently works for Google as a curriculum fellow and lives with his wife in Santa Cruz, CA.

How you get there is sometimes more important than ever getting there at all. In those cases, where...

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 02:44:14 -0400

How you get there is sometimes more important than ever getting there at all. In those cases, where you end up isn’t where you want to be.

Peripheral vision is awesome

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:53:04 -0400

Peripheral vision is awesome

Kick Ass, very awesome.

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 04:14:19 -0400

Kick Ass, very awesome.

I’m curious how the American version of “Death at a Funeral” compares to the...

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:12:36 -0400

I’m curious how the American version of “Death at a Funeral” compares to the British version with Alan Tudyk.

Physics test are scheduled annoyingly. Seriously cutting into my do nothing time

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:46:59 -0400

Physics test are scheduled annoyingly. Seriously cutting into my do nothing time

It’s always more fun when the Yankees win their home opener

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:00:53 -0400

It’s always more fun when the Yankees win their home opener

Things are so much more fun when nothing makes sense anymore. Everything’s so exciting

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:19:10 -0400

Things are so much more fun when nothing makes sense anymore. Everything’s so exciting