When people ask me what I do - Life of Software Engineer

When people ask me what I do, and I say I’m a “Software Developer”, they seem fairly impressed yet not entirely sure what it means. Even my parents still can’t quite grasp what it is I do. They know I’m good with computers and also useful for any technical issues they have (a hazard of the job, much like a doctor or car mechanic I imagine). So for both their sake and yours I’ll attempt to describe what happens in a day in the life of a software developer. 

7.30am - Wake-up

First cup of tea of the day, the start of many… 

8.30am - Head to work

There you go; start the journey to office, bearing the traffic for next 1- 1.5 hours.

10.00am – Arrive at work

Make a cup of tea and head to my desk. Switch on my PC, log in and then check if any urgent emails need dealing with.

10.30am – Start work for the day

We follow a SCRUM methodology and work in two week sprints. What this essentially means is features that are to be added to the website are broken down into lots of small tasks that can be released to the live environment every three weeks. We spend one gathering the requirements, understanding the scope and then the final week is spent testing the changes, fixing any bugs that have been found and then getting ready for the next three week sprint

11.30am – Status Call

Team meeting starts; give updates to concerned people. Blabber about the things you did. If not done; explain why, listen to the lecture from the leads and manager.

1pm – Lunch

Some free time…

 

2pm – Back to work

Back to more of the same – cup of tea and work to accomplish the task that I’m working on in the sprint or perhaps testing the performance of the builds. Time goes really quickly and so many things left to be done!!

4:30pm – Evening Snacks

Break… Certainly, a needed one!! Back to my desk after half an hour.

7pm – Home time

Yay..!! Another 2 hours travel to home. Traffic jams, dust, rains, irritating co-passengers all to give company!!

9:30pm – Sync up meetings

Attend the Sync up calls with onsite team. 

11.30pm – Bed Time

Go to bed with the hope that some things/people will change next day that you will not be bored with job, that something good will happen with you too.

It’s the weekends where every person spend his/her time differently. Over the years, I have realised that one must have some other passion as a hobby which he/she can pursue in spare time. Be it photography, biking, partying, hang out with friends, camping, hiking, trekking etc. as these all options are available nearby the place I live. This is the only way person will not be bored with his job. I prefer sleeping and get some rest on weekends though…

Monsoon Rains - A Thought

The monsoon is generally referred to the season of rain. In India, it starts in the middle of June and continues after August. It brings rains after the heat of the sun. The season gives respite from the scorching heat of the summer. It brings life to the plants and trees. Ponds, rivers and streams are filled to the full and the sky remains mostly cloudy.

The sky presents a very beautiful scene. The clouds of different shades move in the sky and look very nice. The trees gets covered with new leaves. New grass grows in the dry fields and they look like turf of green velvet. When it drizzles for several days, the roads, however, become muddy. Rivers, ponds and ditches are filled with water.

Greenery returns to the garden. The season holds particular importance for the agriculturists. It is a blessing for them, as they depend on rain for farming. They are happy to see the cloud-laden sky. They take their plough and oxen and go out of their houses. All these present an enchanting sight.

We all depend on food for subsistence. Rain helps cultivation of various crops. The farmer is rewarded for his hard-work only when he sells the crops and realizes the money. Failure of rain causes famine and many people die.

Rainfall is also important for the overall economic growth of a country. The nation earns huge amount of foreign-exchange earnings by selling the surplus food-grains and fruits are exported.

While it gives relief to the world suffering from heat, it also causes much inconvenience. People are confined to their houses. The roads become muddy and it becomes difficult to walk on them. The rivers often overflow their bans and create much havoc. The walls of mud houses collapse and cause much damage to the household articles.
Rain is great boon to the peasants. Without rain crops would not grow and agriculturists would be put too much loss. In India, agriculturists have to depend mainly on rain for cultivation and for the raising of crops on their lands.

During monsoon season, people also face many difficulties. However, heavy down-pours choke the drains of the cities. The drainage system in our country is not adequate to drain away the rain-water completely. The ditches besides the roads start overflowing.
Water logging causes severe traffic jam in most of the cities. People are not able to move out due to water logging.
The rivers and lakes overflow their banks, and many villages are flooded. The condition of flood in slum areas badly affects the life of poor people.
Land transport and communication system is suspended in many places. In such conditions, small boats become the means of transportation at villages.

Excessive rainfall is injurious to crops. The prices of food-stuffs go up during the rainy season.
Like everything in life, timely monsoon is most welcome. However, excessive or inadequate rainfall leads to scarcity and famine. Adequate rainfall during the sowing seasons ensures good harvest. If it is very late, plants and trees are badly affected. The soil gets too dry and cracks up in the heat. On the other hand, if the monsoon continues for too long, it leads to various diseases. In such cases the joys of autumn are also spoiled.

Mr. Nags - The Man Who Knows Secrets Of RCB Team

#Peas.... Are you a devout follower of Royal Challengers Bangalore and want some scoop on the team members? Look no further. Our own Bengalurean Mr Nags has some of the juiciest gossip on theteam members in the RCB Insider. 

Want to hear how the handsome Ab de Villiers proposed to his girlfriend? Ever heard Gayle and team owner Vijay Mallya speak in Kannada? Well, here is Mr Nags showing glimpses of their lives off the field. But who is this Mr Nags – the RCB Insider who speaks like a typical Bengalurean Kannadiga? 

Don’t rack your brains much, it is our very own Danish Sait – the infamous prankster on FM Fever 104. The RCB team over the last two weeks has been uploading videos of Mr Nags crashing into RCB shoots and its parties on its website.

Speaking about what prompted him to be the character he is, Danish says, “Mr. Nags is like a stereotypical representation of Bengalurean. 

The audiences can therefore relate to him since the accent, mannerisms are similar, therefore relatability is high. He is in a bubble of his own, not noticing that the world thinks of him as an idiot.”

His grandfather Aziz Sait was a Congress man from the Mysuru. As a child, he observed the numerous visitors who thronged his house every day to interact with the family.

Soon, he started mimicking the different voices and accents he heard and even before he knew it, he was in a profession where he could use this talent.

While explaining the character that he essays, the popular RJ says the intention is to create humour content for the audience while simultaneously gathering scoop from the team.  

Denying that he is not a mascot for the team, he says he just plays a character that entertains people and connects them with the team.

“The RCB Insider videos have got a good response and people have liked the content. Actually the name Nags was a cooler version of Nagraj (one of the several names he uses in his pranks). People have often said that I’m a brand ambassador for Kannada since I regularly prank in the local language.”

The episode with Ab de Villiers where the cricketer shares his experience of proposing to his wife, Danielle, is his favourite because it captures both a softer romantic side of the South African as well as his humoristic side.

#PlayBold #RCBInsider #Peas #MrNags

Towards a Swachh Bharat - Clean India Campaign

The father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi had said that, “Sanitation is more important than Independence” during his time before the independence of India. He was well aware of the bad and unclean situation of the India. He had emphasized the people of India a lot about the cleanliness and sanitation as well as its implementation in the daily lives. 

However, it was not so effective and failed because of the incomplete participation of people. After many years of independence of India, a most effective campaign of cleanliness is launched to call people for their active participation and complete the mission of cleanliness.

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee has said in June 2014 while addressing the Parliament that, “For ensuring hygiene, waste management and sanitation across the nation a Swachh Bharat Mission will be launched. This will be our tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary to be celebrated in the year 2019”. In order to fulfill the vision of Mahatma Gandhi and make India an ideal country all over the world, the Prime Minister of India has initiated a campaign called Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi (2nd of October 2014). This campaign has the target of completion of mission till 2019 means 150th birthday anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi.

Through this campaign the government of India would solve the sanitation problems by enhancing the waste management techniques. Clean India movement is completely associated with the economic strength of the country. The birth date of the Mahatma Gandhi is targeted in both, the launch and completion of the mission. The basic goals behind launching the Swachh Bharat Mission are to make the country full of sanitation facilities as well as eliminate all the unhealthy practices of people in daily routines. The first cleanliness drive in India was started on 25th of September in 2014 and first initiated by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi by cleaning the road.

The completion of this mission would indirectly draw the attention of business investors in India, enhance the GDP growth, draw tourists attention from all over the world, bring variety of sources of employment, reduce health costs, reduce death rate, and reduce lethal disease rate and many more. Clean India would bring more tourists and enhance its economical condition. The Prime Minister of India has requested to every Indian to devote their 100 hours per year for the cleanliness in India which is very sufficient to make this country a clean country by 2019. Swachh Bharat cess is also started to get some fund for this campaign. Everyone has to pay extra .5% tax (50 paise per 100 rupee) on all the services in India.